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MY IMPRESSIONS 
OF AMERICA 

MARGOT ASQUITH 



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MARGOT ASOriTH 

Returning- from licr visit tu tlie Wliite House. 



MY IMPRESSIONS 
OF AMERICA 



BY / 

MARGOT ASQUITH ' 

AUTHOR OF "MARGOT ASQUITH : AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY," ETO. 




NEW XBJr YORK 
GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 



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COPYRIGHT, 1922, 
BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY. 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA. I 
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 



OCT "7 72 ' ^ 

©C1A683690 



% r CONTENTS 

X I: ABOARD THE C ARMANI A 

3P> CI PAQB 

-^ ^ Margot Not a Natural Tourist; Lacks 
Curiosity — Headlines in London Com- 
pared WITH Headlines in New York — 
American Women Worldly — American 
Men THE Genuine Article .... 11 

II: ARRIVAL IN NEW YORK 

Reporters Lacking in Awe — Splendours op 
Hotel Life — First Lecture a Failure 
as Result op Sea-Sickness — Thrilled 
BY New York's Architecture ... 21 

III: BOSTON AND WORCESTER 

Discomport of Travel in America — Stage 
Fright in Boston — Bostonians Intelli- 
gent and Courteous — John Sargent's 
Frescoes in the Museum 29 

IV: UNRESPONSIVE PHILADELPHIA 

Sermon on Life as a Training School — Mar- 
got's English Not Understood in Phil- 
adelphia — Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt's 
Bal Poudre — Praise from Heywood 
Broun 41 

V: THE WHITE HOUSE AND WASHINGTON 

President Harding Easy to Talk To — Mar- 
got Explains English Politics — Chats 



[V] 



CONTENTS 



WITH WooDROw Wilson — Impressed by 
Ambassador Jusserand 57 

VI: DETROIT AND CHICAGO 

Guest of Women's Club — Visits Ford Works 
— Lovely Mrs. Minotto — Bonus and 
Disabled Soldiers 71 

VII: PITTSBURGH AND ROCHESTER 

Meets an Interesting Reporter — Compli- 
ments FROM Dr. Holland — Pullman 
Car Inconveniences — Margot Sees Her 
First Flapper 81 

VIII: TORONTO AND MONTREAL 

Margot Tells a Mark Twain Story — Cap- 
tures Toronto Audience; Kisses Char- 
woman — Montreal Ladies Quelling 
and Critical 95 

IX: IN CANADA'S CAPITAL 

Apathy and Breeding of Ottawa's Audience 
— Intimate Talk with Premier Mac- 
kenzie King — The Statue of "Sir Gal- 
ahad" AND Its Story 105 

X: REFLECTIONS AT LARGE 

Drawbacks of American Journalism — Sen- 
sational Headlines; Fear of the Press 
— Controversy on Prohibition with 
Lord Lee — Impressions of U. S. Senate 115 

[vi] 



CONTENTS 

XI: SYRACUSE AND BUFFALO 

PAGE 

City of Culture and Beauty — Niagara's 
Natural Beauty Marred by Billboards 
— M ARGOT Reads About Herself . . 135 

XII: INTERESTING ST. LOUIS 

Met by the Mayor — Another Intelligent 
Reporter — News from Home and Views 
Thereon — Luncheon at Women's Club 147 

XIII: KANSAS CITY AND OMAHA 

American Voices Rarely Musical — Sees 
Lovely Country Home — Discussion on 
Character Building — Margot Predicts 
Great Future for Governor Allen . 155 

XIV: THE WAR AND PROHIBITION 

Heated Discussion on England's Entry into 
THE War — Our German Friends — Amer- 
ican Vitality — Misquoted on Prohibi- 
tion 165 

XV: NEW YORK IDEAL CITY 

Life and Air and Gaiety in New York — Let- 
ter FROM Governor Allen — Margot 
Meets Arthur Brisbane — Princess Bi- 
BESco's Book 177 

XVI: CRITICISM AND FAREWELL 

Doll Salesman Talks on Prohibition — 
Perils of Commercialism and Material- 
ism IN America — Plea for Love and 
Friendship 189 



[vii] 



CONTENTS 

XVII: THINKING IT OVER IN ENGLAND 

PAGE 

Americans Friendly but Vain — The Land 
OF the Reformer — Interest in Europe's 
Aristocracy — Newspapers Pander to 
Vulgar Curiosity — Plea for Anglo- 
American Friendship 199 

INDEX ^11 



[viii] 



I: ABOARD THE CARMANIA 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF 
AMERICA 

I 

ABOARD THE CARMANIA 

MARGOT NOT A NATURAL TOURIST; LACKS 

CURIOSITY HEADLINES IN LONDON 

COMPARED WITH HEADLINES IN NEW 
YORK — AMERICAN WOMEN WORLDLY — 
AMERICAN MEN THE GENUINE ARTICLE 

1 MOTORED to Southampton on Sat- 
urday, the 21st of January, this year, 
and after saying good-bye to my husband 
and my son, retired to my berth on the Car- 
mania, I am a bad traveller, and had been 
laid up with a sort of influenza until the 
day before I left London. 

Kindly press people tempted me to con- 
fide in them on the ship. They asked me 
if I would be back in time for Princess 

[11] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

Mary's wedding; where I was going when 
I arrived in America, and if I looked for- 
ward to my trip. I sometimes wonder what 
questions I would put if I were obliged to 
interview a traveller. I would ask with 
reluctance where they were going, but 
never what they had seen, because I know 
I could not listen to their answers. Every- 
one knows what you are likely to see if you 
go for any length of time to London, Rome, 
Athens or the United States ; and is there a 
person living whose impressions you would 
care to hear either upon the Coliseum, Ni- 
agara Falls, or any other of the great works 
of art or of nature? On such subjects 
the remarks of the cleverest and stupidest 
are equally inadequate and the superb vo- 
cabulary of a Ruskin will probably not be 
more illuminating than what the school-boy 
writes in the Visitors' Book at Niagara, 
"Uncle and all very much pleased." 

I am inclined to think it is a mild form 

of vanity that makes a certain type of rich 

person travel every year. I have heard 

these say that for all the interest we who are 

[12] 



ABOARD THE CARMANIA 

left behind take in what they have seen and 
heard, they might as well have remained at 
Brighton. Nevertheless, the world is full 
of tourists ; and there are a number of people 
who like to pick up pieces of unimportant 
information without effort. The foolish ma- 
jority of these read the Daily 31 ail; the po- 
litical, the Manchester Guardian; the Liber- 
als, the Westminster Gazette; the intellec- 
tual, the New Statesman; and to pass the 
time on Sundays there are always the long 
columns of the Observer or for the credulous, 
the "Secret History of the Week." 

After glancing at the leading articles, 
the City man turns to "Bound the Markets : 
Home Railways firm. The Chilian Scrip 
reacted to 1% premium and Norway sixes 
give way to ninety-five." They then read: 
"By the Silver Sea, the Sunny South, 
or Glowing East"; ponder over lists of 
those who are going to Eg^^pt, America, or 
the Biviera; and end by learning that the 
site of the old General Post Ofiice was in 
St. Martins-le-Grand. 

In America it is rather different. On 

[13] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

the front page of one of the most impor- 
tant papers you read : 

"Kardos has hopes of father's aid," "Men 
faint in pubhc and lose $153,000," "Death 
note writer caught in Capital," "Losses of 
women duped by Lindsay," "Iceland cabi- 
net falls," "Tokio diet in uproar over snake 
on floor," "Saddle horse from Firestone, 
Harding's favourite mount," and short no- 
tices on Ireland, Paris and London ; you are 
encouraged to turn to page 6, column five 
or column 8, page 5 and finish with "Dazz- 
ling display of Princess Mary's lingerie." 

It is difficult to say why most travellers 
are uninteresting. I do not think it is be- 
cause they have been to wonderful places, 
but because the average man has not the 
power to assimilate or interpret what he has 
seen; and they enlarge on their own sensa- 
tions with such a lack of humour and propor- 
tion, that you feel as if they were not only 
rebuffing you, but claiming part of the credit 
of the master works themselves. When told 
at a party that you ought to meet Mr. So- 
and-So, as he has just come back from the 
[14] 



ABOARD THE CARMANIA 

Far East, Southwest, or North Pole, you 
cling to the nearest door post, and make 
your escape while the hero is being traced 
in the crowd. I like what I have thought 
out for myself better than what I discover; 
and conclusions arrived at after careful re- 
flection are more enlarging than what is 
pointed out to you by inquisitive spectators. 

I am not a natural tourist, and Napoleon's 
shaving soap will never interest me as much 
as the smallest light upon his mind or char- 
acter. There is a difference between curi- 
osity and interest, and I regret to say I am 
not curious. 

I have come to the United States for the 
first time, not in a missionary spirit or to 
study anything or anybody, but to see my 
daughter and to enjoy myself. 

In a rash moment, however, I promised to 
write my impressions of the United States 
and Canada, and this may give rise to false 
hopes. 

Lord Acton wrote in a letter to Mrs. 
Drew, "One touch of ill nature makes the 
whole world kin," and I must make an ef- 

[15] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

fort not to disappoint my thoughtful critics. 
I have been accused of faihng to appreciate 
the society of brilliant American women 
whether in Italy, Paris or London; but it 
could be added with truth that brilhance, 
while stimulating most people, has always 
exhausted me. I prefer the clumsiest thought 
to the most finished phrase, and am so slow, 
that the mildest complication may make me 
miss the point. "General and prolonged 
laughter" is a faculty I have never been 
able to acquire, and sudden explosions over 
anything I have said usually convince me 
that I had better have held my tongue. 

To an outsider who has only known Euro- 
pean Americans, the most noticeable thing 
about American women is their freedom 
from native soil. They are equally well 
equipped whether their nationality is trans- 
ferred from Russia to Rome, Vienna, Rou- 
mania or Paris. No blank cheque could be 
more adequately filled in, and I never cease 
wondering what can be the secret of their 
perfect social mechanism. 

Beautiful to look at and elegantly dressed, 
[16] 



ABOARD THE CARMANIA 

with an open mind upon whatever topic is 
discussed, adaptable, available, rich and 
good-humoured, the American woman as I 
know her is the last word in worldiness and 
fashion. In my own country she is not only 
a popular, but a privileged person, and hav- 
ing started by being what is called "natural," 
she becomes more and more so every day. 

The husbands of these ladies, when not of 
needy foreign aristocracy, are usually di- 
vorced, discharged or disposed of in some 
way or other; and, even if they are of the 
same nationahty, are quite unlike the Ameri- 
can man as I have known him. 

He is seldom fashionable and never lei- 
sured ; he has a passion for learning all that 
there is to be known, and holds vigorous 
views upon most things. If a little copious 
in narrative, he is never mechanical, but an 
absolutely genuine article; spontaneous, 
friendly, hospitable and keen. He appears 
to treat his women folk with the patience 
and indulgence you extend to spoilt chil- 
dren, never attempting to discuss matters, 
either literary or pohtical, with them, and is 

[17] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

agreeably surprised if you show an interest 
in Wall Street or the White House. 

I am jotting down these preliminary im- 
pressions, any one of which may — and prob- 
ably will — have to be revised during the 
course of my travels. 



[18] 



II: ARRIVAL IN NEW YORK 



II 

ARRIVAL IN NEW YORK 

REPORTERS LACKING IN AWE — SPLENDOURS 
OF HOTEL LIFE FIRST LECTURE A FAIL- 
URE AS RESULT OF SEA-SICKNESS — 
THRILLED BY NEW YORK's ARCHITEC- 
TURE 

AFTER an abominable voyage during 
which the ship rolled and rocked, 
groaned and shuddered, and the sea did pre- 
cisely what it liked with us, we arrived a day 
and a half late, and surrounded by press-men 
I feather-stitched on to American soil. 

If the reporters are a little lacking in awe, 
they make up for it by the intelligent in- 
terest they take in everything connected 
with one; and after being asked what I 
thought of "flappers" and what Mr. Lloyd 
George thought of me, I was allowed to go 
to the Ambassador Hotel. I could not have 

[21] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

been greeted with more courtesy had I ar- 
rived at Windsor Castle, nor have I ever 
stayed in a better hotel. 

My son-in-law Prince Bibesco, my daugh- 
ter Elizabeth, and my cousin Miss Tennant 
(whose brother is Sir Auckland Geddes's 
private secretary), showed me the airy bed- 
rooms and beautiful bathrooms which the 
manager of the hotel had chosen for us. 
I sat down completely exhausted when sud- 
denly the door opened and my sitting room 
was flooded with male and female report- 
ers. Having been seasick and without solid 
food for a week, the carpet and ceiling were 
still nodding at me, and I regret to confess 
that I said nothing very striking; but they 
were welcoming and friendly; and after a 
somewhat dislocated conversation I stag- 
gered off to bed. 

I was introduced the next day by my ci- 
cerone, Mr. Lee Keedick, to the New Am- 
sterdam Theatre, where scouts were placed 
in distant galleries to try my voice. I had 
no difficulty in making myself heard, but I 
felt terribly ill and more than inadequate as 
[22] 



ARRIVAL IN NEW YORK 

I made my first appearance at 3.30 in the 
well filled theatre. Dr. Murray Butler in- 
troduced me in a courteous speech and ex- 
plained that after such an unusually rough 
crossing I would be obliged to sit down 
throughout the performance, which I much 
regretted. 

I opened with a spirited account of an 
Irish horse dealer, which, I could see at a 
glance, interested nobody. Whether I was 
speaking Irish or English, it might have 
been Walloon for all the audience cared. 
My heart faded, my voice sank, and I knew 
that many could not hear; some were not 
listening, and my friends were watching me 
with apprehension, charity and cheers. 
More dead than alive I was relieved when 
an enterprising lady shouted from the gal- 
lery: 

"You've got my money for nothing — 
Good-bye, I've had enough of you!" 

This informal greeting stirred the kind- 
ness of my listeners to a protest, and as soon 
as I could, I changed to other subjects. 
With the fall of the curtain many old friends 

[23] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

came on to the stage, and presenting me 
with roses, assured me that I had won the 
hearts of my audience, after which I left 
the theatre. 

Driving home, I opened all the taxi win- 
dows and was struck with the architectural 
beauties of the streets. With the exception 
of Munich I have jiever seen a modern 
town comparable to New York. The colour 
of the stone and lightness of the air would 
put vitality into a corpse; and in spite of a 
haunting recollection that the lady in the 
gallery had had enough of me, I returned 
to the Ambassador happy though exhausted. 

My daughter took me in the evening to a 
wonderful party given by Miss Mable Gerry. 
We wore our best clothes, but our taxi 
driver did not seem satisfied, and before 
turning in to the magnificent court-yard, 
he stopped, opened the door, and enquired 
rather sceptically if this was where we were 
expected; concealing our mortification we 
urged him to drive on. 

There was something for every taste at 
Miss Gerry's beautiful house. I started by 
[24] 



ARRIVAL IN NEW YORK 

sitting next to my dear old friend Mr. Harry- 
White, and a brilliant stranger Mr. Thomas 
Ridgeway; went on to play bridge, listened 
to a fluent pianist, and finished by dancing 
unknown steps to a wonderful band. 

I am enunciating a platitude when I say 
the Americans are the finest dancers in the 
world. 



[25] 



Ill: BOSTON AND WORCESTER 



Ill 

BOSTON AND WORCESTER 

DISCOMFORT OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA — ^STAGE 
FRIGHT IN BOSTON BOSTONIANS INTEL- 
LIGENT AND COURTEOUS JOHN SAR- 

GENT's frescoes IN THE MUSEUM 

a 7 the 2nd of February, next morning, 
my friend and secretary Mr. Horton, 
myself and maid arrived in Boston City after 
a comfortable journey in a private compart- 
ment given to us by the courtesy of our 
guard. I do not wish to say anything dis- 
agreeable, but except for the beauty of the 
railway stations, the travelling arrange- 
ments in America are far inferior to ours. 
Sitting erect on revolving chairs in public, 
is a trial not lessened by an atmosphere in 
which you could force pineapples. We were 
greeted upon our arrival by reporters and 
cameras. It distresses me to stand blink- 

[29] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

ing at the sun; as not being a beauty, I 
know that my nose will always be more of a 
limb than a feature, and trying to look pleas- 
ant results in my teeth coming out like tomb- 
stones in the morning papers. 

Left to ourselves, we went to examine the 
Symphony Hall, where I was to speak that 
night. Arriving on the stage, I stood ap- 
palled. Feeling like a midge upon a dread- 
nought, I looked at the largest hall I have 
ever seen, except the one in London 
erected to the sacred memory of good Prince 
Albert. 

"This is a practical joke of the worst 
kind!'' I exclaimed to the gentlemen in at- 
tendance, "and not for a million dollars 
would I insult the Boston people by making 
myself ridiculous here to-night. I have not 
been in prison, or divorced ; nor have I been 
to the North or South Pole, or climbed 
mountains and Matterhorns ; I have nothing 
wonderful to tell about, and instead of one 
woman shouting, *Give me back my money 
— I've had enough of you,' the whole audi- 
ence will rise to their feet. This is not a 
[30] 



BOSTON AND WORCESTER 

hall, it's a railway tunnel! I cannot see the 
end of it: it's made for engines or aero- 
planes"; and I trembled with rage and ap- 
prehension. 

"It's a concert hall, madam, built for 
oratorios," they replied, pointing to a vast 
organ decorating the wall behind me. 

"No doubt d,rums, trumpets, or opera 
singers could make themselves heard, but 
a shrimp of a female standing alone here 
would make the gods laugh, and nothing 
will induce me to speak!" 

"But, dear madam, all Boston is coming 
to hear you." 

Mr. Horton put his arm through mine, 
saying soothingly, "You are tired; let us go 
back to the hotel." 

Visibly distressed, the gentlemen of the 
hall assured me that men of meagre voice 
had lectured many times and been perfectly 
heard ; and as I walked away I saw through 
the corner of my eyes that my angelic secre- 
tary was nodding to assure them that I 
would keep my contract. 

Alone in the taxi I burst into tears, ask- 

[31] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

ing what I had done to be so punished; I 
said that the front rows would be deafened, 
the centre bewildered, and the balconies in- 
dignant. He assured me I had a beautiful 
voice, an interesting personality and a 
plucky nature, etc., and that I must cer- 
tainly go through with it as every seat had 
been sold. 

I dressed with streaming eyes and a scar- 
let nose, and in snow and silence we drove 
to the Symphony Hall. The platform and 
auditorium were crowded, and blind with 
fear, I walked on to the front of the stage. 
My chairman, Mr. Arthur Hill (Corpora- 
tion Counsel of the City of Boston), in in- 
troducing me spoke with the greatest ease, 
and I observed that every word he said was 
heard; but it was obvious from the perfec- 
tion of his speech that he had addressed a 
thousand audiences before and this was only 
my second public appearance. 

I stood up with my knees knocking to- 
gether as I looked at the sea of expectant 
faces below me. 

Heaven forefend that I should repeat 
[32] 



BOSTON AND WORCESTER 

what I said, but for one hour and twenty- 
minutes I did the best I could; beginning 
with my pleasure at being in America, I 
continued with stories of my native land, 
and ended with an account of Windsor 
Castle and the Disarmament Conference. 

No president or prime minister could 
have had a more intelligent, friendly, cour- 
teous and responsive audience than the 
people of Boston. Aching from my ankles 
to my temples, I bowed to their repeated 
cheers as, humble and happy, I retired from 
the stage. 

Enthusiastic hearers pressed into the 
green room where I had sunk into a chair as 
immovable as the mangle. Mr. Horton, who 
had sat among the statues on the sky line, 
assured me he had heard every syllable. 
Eager reporters began to ask what I thought 
of Boston, but dumb and exhausted I 
bundled into my cloak. Crowds of men and 
women were waiting in the street, and as I 
motored away I gathered I had been a suc- 
cess. 

The next day Lieutenant Governor 

[33] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

Alvin Fuller and his wife — who were among 
those who had congratulated me in the green 
room the night before — ^gave us lunch and 
took us in their motor to the two great Bos- 
ton sights : the Public Library and the Fine 
Arts Museum. 

The Library is a magnificent building, 
founded in 1852, containing over two mil- 
lion volumes, half of which are lent out for 
daily use at home. The architects of the 
building were McKim, Mead, k White of 
New York, but most of the design was the 
work of Charles Follen McKim. The mural 
decorations were painted by Puvis de Cha- 
vannes, Edwin Austin Abbey, and John 
Singer Sargent. As my time was limited I 
concentrated on the works of my friend Mr. 
Sargent. 

It would be as impossible as it would be 
pretentious to attempt to describe the beauty 
of the Sargent Hall. It represents thirty 
years of thought and labour, and has a ma- 
jesty of design, glory of drawing, and origi- 
nality of conception imequalled by anything 
in Europe. 
[34] 



BOSTON AND WORCESTER 

The "Hand-Maid of the Lord" on the 
east wall, holding the Divine Child in her 
arms, and "Our Lady of Sorrows," which 
faces it, fill your heart with wonder and your 
eyes with tears. 

In the first, the Blessed Virgin is rising 
from a throne with her baby in her arms. 
You realise in looking at this Child that 
He is the Mighty God and Everlasting 
Father; and the expression on the face of 
the Virgin — more than of any other Ma- 
donna that I have ever seen — convinces you 
that she was not only the Mother of the 
Counsellor upon whose shoulders the Gov- 
ernment would fall, but the Mother of the 
Prince of Peace. 

The Virgin in "Our Lady of Sorrows" 
stands upon the crescent moon behind a row 
of hghted candles raised in relief of white, 
gold and silver. Her little face with wide- 
set eyes looks down upon you from an 
elaborate silver crown set against a radiant 
halo of fine and illusive design, and her two 
beautiful hands clasp to her heart the shin- 
ing swords that typify the Seven Sorrows. 

[35] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

The dignity of her pose, the submission and 
pathos of her haunting eyes waken you to a 
new sense of the majesty of pain. I felt, 
as I looked up, that I was sharing a com- 
mon gratitude that such subjects should 
have captured the genius of the greatest liv- 
ing artist. 

We went on from the Library to the Mu- 
seum, where the decorations of the dome of 
the rotunda, to say nothing of the exterior 
of the buildings, are magnificent. Here Mr. 
John Sargent has surpassed himself. 

I have heard critics^ for want of some- 
thing better to say, express the opinion that 
he is a finer painter than artist. If they 
have any doubt upon the subject, let them 
go to Boston, and if teachable, they wiU 
learn there that Sargent is not only a rare 
artist, but a poet and an architect. 

Before leaving Boston City I received a 
call from Mrs. Bancroft, an old lady of 
eighty, with whom I made friends. She was 
extremely clever, and when she said I had 
both grace and genius I thought her an ex- 
cellent judge! She told me I looked tired, 
[36] 



BOSTON AND WORCESTER 

and when we said good-bye, she gave me a 
bunch of wonderful flowers. 

We motored from Boston to Worcester 
in the Fullers' car, and dined with Mr. and 
Mrs. Charles M. Thayer, and after an ex- 
cellent dinner in good company, I delivered 
a lecture in the private house of Mr. and 
Mrs. Washburn, at which there w^ere no re- 
porters. Having implored my fellow 
guests at dinner to interrupt me in the draw- 
ing room — as I had never addressed this 
kind of party before — we opened a sort of 
debate which I thoroughly enjoyed. I 
doubt if any English audience, unless of old 
friends, would have asked such clever and 
amusing questions, and I knew as I an- 
swered back, by the feeling of life and 
laughter, that it had been a success, and went 
to bed without remembering the New York 
lady who had had enough of me. 



[87] 



IV: UNRESPONSIVE 
PHILADELPHIA 



IV 

UNRESPONSIVE PHILADELPHIA 

SERMON ON LIFE AS A TRAINING SCHOOL 

MARGOT'S ENGLISH NOT UNDERSTOOD IN 

PHILADELPHIA MRS. CORNELIUS VAN- 

DERBILT's BAL POUDRE — PRAISE FROM 
HEYWOOD BROUN 

ON Sunday, the 15th of February, Mr. 
and Mrs. Harry White took me to St. 
Bartholomew's, a modern church of great 
beauty. Dr. Parkes, a man of authority 
and eloquence, preached from the fourth 
chapter of Galatians, verse 6: 

"And because ye are sons, God has sent 
forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts." 
I did not need to be a Scotch woman to 
listen to the sermon that he preached. He 
said that we were fellow students graduating 
from a great university, joined in the son- 
ship of Christ, and that we should cultivate 

[41] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

a spiritual fellowship with man, since the 
highest personality could never develop by 
itself. That our names were entered at our 
baptism; we received our first diplomas at 
our confirmation; and the object and 
mission of the Church was to guide or coach 
us for the various tests that life would de- 
mand from us; and that we should always 
do what we could to help one another. 

As I listened to the rector, knovv^ing how 
easy I had found it in life to love and care 
for other people, I wondered how many 
things I had left undone, and what examina- 
tion I could pass if suddenly called upon to 
compete. Haunted from early youth by 
the transitoriness and pathos of life, I was 
aware that it was not enough to say, "I am 
doing no harm," I ought to be testing myself 
daily, and asking what I was really achiev- 
ing. 

My attention having strayed from the ser- 
mon, I was glad to have it recalled by hear- 
ing Dr. Parkes say that most people pre- 
ferred the jazz, the vaudeville, or the mo- 
vies to the Church. 
[42] 



UNRESPONSIVE PHILADELPHIA 

He said that he would step down for a 
moment into the pews and ask the pulpit 
why the services were conventional, monot- 
onous and uninspiring ; why the clergy gave 
unsuitable moral advice, warning the con- 
gregation of dangers to which they were not 
exposed; expressing opinions on politics 
which they did not share; and convincing 
them at the end of a tedious service that 
under no circumstances would they go 
oftener to church than they could possibly 
help. 

"I will now return to the pulpit," he said; 
and I listened with close attention. 

It was true, the Church was often dull; 
but the attitude of the congregation was 
wrong. They ought not to depend upon 
perpetual entertainment. People went to 
church for various reasons. Some from 
habit, some to set a good example, and a few 
with a yearning hope that they might hear 
something to heal their tortured minds; 
something to reassure them that since Jesus 
wept. He could not be far from those who 
mourned. Few men were orators, and what 

[43] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

filled the churches were the sermons. People 
would tell you the service was enough, but it 
obviously was not; or the churches would 
be crowded every Sunday. 

"I have no doubt," he continued, "that 
I could entertain you for a time; so could 
the choir and the fine organ, but I feel this 
would be wrong; it would be taking away 
from the meaning of the service, and the 
spiritual fellowship of man. Everyone 
ought to go to church, as otherwise the 
churches would cease to exist, and the most 
irreligious of men could hardly desire this. 
One day some young prophet or great dis- 
ciple of Christ might come among us and 
find no place from where he could speak to 
the people, and no assemblage that he could 
address." 

I went back to the hotel profoundly im- 
pressed by what I had heard and not in the 
humour to be interviewed by a Philadelphian 
reporter who was waiting to see me; but I 
found Mr. V. Hostetter both understanding 
and intelligent. 

7^ ^ 7^ ^ >^ ^ ^ 

[44] 



UNRESPONSIVE PHILADELPHIA 

The next day I went to Philadelphia. The 
unresponsiveness of my large audience was 
more than made up for by the kindness of 
my chairman, Mr. George Gibbs, the hos- 
pitality of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Ridgeway, 
and the friendliness of the reporters. I 
doubt if my EngHsh was understood, in 
spite of being informed that I could be 
heard plainly from the gallery. Except at 
my first lecture — when I could not stand — 
I have had no difficulty in making myself 

heard. 

******* 

On my return to New York, after dining 
in bed, I joined my daughter at a hal poudre 
given by Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt, a clever 
New York hostess who thinks nothing of 
entertaining a hundred and fifty people at 
lunch, tea or dinner. 

One of the noticeable differences between 
fashion in England and America, is that 
what might appear to the uninitiated as an 
almost exaggerated display of hospitality, 
is as chic here as it might be thought over- 
done in London. American hostesses are 

[45] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

also very particular as to precedence: who 
sits next to whom, or goes in first, second or 
third. I must confess to being remiss in 
these ways, and when an American lady at 
one of these dinners asked me if I minded 
my daughter, Elizabeth Bibesco, going in or 
out — I forget which it was — in front of me, 
I imagined she was joking. I disconcerted 
a reporter when he asked me if I knew all 
the British aristocracy, by saying that 
alas! I did not, but that my maid did. 

Nothing could have been prettier than the 
Vanderbilt ball. I look forward to seeing 
the house of my kind hosts under more nor- 
mal conditions, but I could see at a glance 
that it is not only full of rare and valuable 
objects, but is really striking. The recep- 
tion rooms, concert hall, and ballrooms were 
crowded with fashion and beauty. I gazed 
about to see if I could find anyone I knew. 
My eye fell upon my daughter Elizabeth, 
who in her black velvet Aubrey Beardsley 
dress was among the prettiest women in the 
room. 

After trying unsuccessfully to detain my 
[46] ' 



UNRESPONSIVE PHILADELPHIA 

beloved friend Colonel House — who hates 
parties — I caught sight of Mr. Balfour 
looking young and happy. In spite of the 
admiring throng by whom he was sur- 
rounded I skirmished through, and, taking 
him by the arm, engaged him in private con- 
versation. Being incapable of flattery, I 
told him with what extraordinary ability he 
had represented Great Britain at the Wash- 
ington Conference; how glad we all were 
that he had been selected; and how en- 
chanted I was to see him. With the dazzhng 
charm that never deserts him he asked me 
searching questions as to how my lectures 
were progressing, and implored me not to 
tire myself. 

I answered that I was always over-tired, 
but said with truth that neither he nor I 
would ever grow old. 

No one can say that Mr. Balfour does not 
care for power and politics, but a certain 
detachment has prevented him from grow- 
ing old, and by what means I cannot dis- 
cover, he never appears to be bored in so- 

[47] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

ciety; it is this, I think, that keeps him 
young. 

I know something about youth, as the 
Tennants are a race apart; not because we 
are specially clever, learned, famous, or 
amusing, but because we have no age. I 
have been told by gypsies, palmists, phre- 
nologists and other swindlers many sense- 
less and incompatible things, but upon two 
matters they all agreed. They said I would 
always be young enough to make love and 
inspire it, and that I was unmercenary and 
of a kindly disposition. 

In these ways I resemble my father. 
Sleepless, irritable, impatient, and inter- 
ested, he could skip and dance at the age of 
sixty better than most young men in their 
teens, and his last beautiful daughter was 
born when he was eighty. This is not en- 
tirely physical: it comes no doubt from vi- 
tahty, but it is also a mixture of moral and 
intellectual temperament, and, above all 
things, the power to admire, without which 
Wordsworth says we cannot live. 

After talking to Mr, Balfour, my host 
[48] 



UNRESPONSIVE PHILADELPHIA 

Mr. Vanderbilt — a man of character, who 
cares little for entertainments — showed me 
his bedroom and his library. 

The morning after the ball I contracted a 
chill which filled me with despair. Having 
to lecture that afternoon (my fifth in Amer- 
ica and second in New York), it was vital 
to remove the unfortunate impression that 
sitting down and reading about horses had 
created upon my first appearance. Unless 
my secretary cuts out and pins upon my 
letters press criticisms of myself, I do not 
look at them, and I had hardly been aware 
of the severity with which I had been taken 
to task the day after my first lecture. People 
are too strong and busy in New York City 
to notice if you are ill or not ; they have paid 
their dollars and are not likely to listen to 
what bores them; they wanted a little local 
gossip about my husband, Mr. Lloyd George, 
or Princess Mary's trousseau. I did not mind 
the abuse as I am press-proof, but I did not 
want to disappoint my manager, Mr. Lee 
Keedick, a competent, kind man, quite un- 
mercenary, and interested in his client's suc- 

[49] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

cess, as much from an artistic as a business 
point of view; or my secretary, Mr. Hor- 
ton, with whom I have contracted a lasting 
friendship. 

Knowing that I had to speak not only 
that afternoon but the next night at Brook- 
lyn, I reassured them by saying that in 
spite of my chill I was going to stand, walk 
about and amuse the audience by stories of 
Gladstone, Tennyson, Kitchener, politics, 
duels and drink. I did not add that I was 
so nervous that I would have to hold my 
head up high as, if I dropped it, I would 
certainly collapse. 

My dear friend, Mr. Paul Cravath, in 
introducing me, made an admirable speech 
and was more than helpful and encourag- 
ing. 

I wish I could remember and write down 
what my chairmen say of me or of my hus- 
band, but I am far too anxious to listen, 
and a cannon ball going off would not pre- 
vent me from struggling to remember my 
speech, in spite of knowing that "Ladies 
[50] 



UNRESPONSIVE PHILADELPHIA 

and Gentlemen" will be as far as my mem- 
ory will take me. 

When I stood up, after bowing with chal- 
lenging languor, I spoke in a slow and de- 
liberate manner which seemed as if it came 
from another person. I never looked at 
my notes until the end of the lecture, and 
after I sat down the audience was enthusi- 
astic. My son-in-law, Prince Bibesco, a 
man of acute and artistic observation, con- 
gratulated me warmly, and speechless with 
exhaustion I went to bed. 

The next morning my chairman sent me 
the following review out of the World: "It 
Seems to Me," by Heywood Broun. 

"The platform manner of Margot As- 
quith fills us wi:th envy. We wish we could 
talk as she does, casually leaning against 
a table. We must confess to a limitless ad- 
miration for her technique. No visiting 
English author in many seasons has seemed 
to us so entirely at home as was Mrs. As- 
quith yesterday afternoon on the stage of 
the New Amsterdam Theatre. Her utter- 
ance is crisp and clear, she is never under 

[51] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

the necessity of digging in her heels and 
shouting. As her point approaches she 
swings into it, facing the audience square 
and standing straight. We admired her 
versatility of delivery. There ought to be 
many clients eager to be tutored by Mrs. As- 
quith in the art of public speaking." 

If I could have met Mr. Broun that day 

my gratitude might have made me feel 

well, but I had a temperature and my 

daughter having contracted influenza, we 

were kept in bed and a trained nurse was 

sent to us by Dr. Eglee. 

******* 

On the eighth I spoke in Brooklyn, where, 
wrapped up in blankets, I was accompanied 
in the motor by my doctor. I remained in 
bed until the 12th, when I made my last 
appearance in New York. By then I had 
become quite fashionable, and largely thanks 
to Mr. Heywood Broun, I received over 
eighty letters a day, flowers, music, books, 
and poems. My daughter Elizabeth's ill- 
[52] 



UNRESPONSIVE PHILADELPHIA 

ness took away all my joy, and had it not 
been for her husband and my cousin, Nan 
Tennant, illness and exhaustion would have 
tempted me to break my contract. 



[53] 



THE WHITE HOUSE AND 
WASHINGTON 



THE WHITE HOUSE AND 
WASHINGTON 

PRESIDENT HARDING EASY TO TALK TO 

MARGOT EXPLAINS ENGLISH POLITICS — 
CHATS WITH WOODROW WILSON IM- 
PRESSED BY AMBASSADOR JUSSERAND 

1 ARRIVED at Washington on the 13th 
alone and spoke the same afternoon. 
A Washington audience does not deafen 
you with applause, but Mr. Thomas Hard, 
my chairman, was so appreciative that he 
seemed to set the fashion to laugh and cheer 
and all went well. 

On the following morning I went by ap- 
pointment at 10.30 to see President Hard- 
ing. After driving to several wrong doors 
at the White House I was shown into an 
ante-room full of press-men talking and 
smoking round an open fire. The Presi- 

[57] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

dent's secretary was extremely courteous, 
and I was not kept waiting. Ushered into 
Mr. Harding's fine circular room we shook 
hands and sat down. A large black and tan 
Airedale terrier sniffed round my skirts, 
and was ordered to sit in a chair by 'his mas- 
ter. President Harding has a large bold 
head with well-cut features and an honest, 
fearless address. He is tall, perfectly 
simple, and extraordinarily easy and pleas- 
ant to talk to. He told me he also had 
lectured and gave me an account of how*lec- 
turing had first started in America. There 
was a sort of club or society which began 
round Lake Chautauqua and spread all 
over the country. It was the only way that 
either pleasure or information could reach 
distant and dreary little towns inhabited by 
thousands of men and women who had 
neither the fortune or opportunity to meet 
famous people. While he was telling me 
this I looked at the big writing table in 
front of him. I noticed a faded photograph 
of an extremely pretty, refined, middle-aged 
woman, and a framed engraving of George 
[58] 



THE WHITE HOUSE 

Washington ; on the top of a book case I ob- 
served an interesting print of Abraham Lin- 
coln. A fire in an open grate and large 
windows looking out upon a garden with 
trees completed the room. 

Our talk was interrupted by a secretary 
asking the President to speak on the tele- 
phone, and he left me after a courteous 
apology. 

On his return he found me looking at the 
photograph on his table, and informed me 
that it was his mother. We spoke of Arthur 
Balfour and I told him how pleased my 
husband and all of us in England were that 
he had been able to go to Washington ; that 
his quick mind, fine intellectual manners, and 
lack of insularity gave him an unrivalled un- 
derstanding. The President responded 
with genuine warmth. 

"I am very glad," he said, "that he at- 
tended our Conference. As you are aware, 
Mrs. Asquith, he was known and liked here 
before the Conference, and I can only say 
that he has added two hundred per cent to 
his former popularity by the patience, tact, 

[59] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

straightforwardness and ability he showed 
throughout our proceedings." 

He talked to me about the political situa- 
tion in England, and asked when I thought 
there would be a general election. I told 
him that the Coalition Liberals were the 
ambitious, paying guests in a Conservative 
Palace (or words to that effect) ; that in 
their recent attempt to force a general 
election they had tried to purchase the 
Palace, but that to their surprise and an- 
noyance Sir George Younger — the keeper 
of the Tory purse, and manager of their 
party — had, with a courage undreamt of 
by his flock, put a veto upon this; and in a 
pohte and pubhc letter given the Coalition 
Liberals notice to quit. This independent 
action upset the influential Downing Street 
press, entertained the Free Liberals, and be- 
wildered the docile Conservatives. The lat- 
ter having no Prime Minister of their own, 
are not only deeply indebted to Mr. Lloyd 
George for all he has done for them, but 
are committed to his leadership by the mu- 
[60] 



THE WHITE HOUSE 

tual bargain of the Kaiser-coupon elec- 
tion. 

I told him I had no notion when the 
election might be sprung upon us, nor 
could anyone foresee its result, but that if 
there were many Sir George Youngers in 
the Conservative Party it was just possible 
that the Coalition might collapse. 

We spoke of the Genoa Conference. I 
said that frankly I was tired of Govern- 
ment by conference: that, starting from 
the fatal one at Versailles, to the futile one 
at Cannes, they had been a source of mis- 
chief, misunderstanding and recrimination; 
and that the only one at which the truth 
had been faced, discussed and spread was 
his own at Washington. I tried to give him 
some idea of the effect that Mr. Hughes's 
opening speech upon disarmament had pro- 
duced in our country, adding how pro- 
foundly sorry I felt for France. Our 
"Hang-the-Kaiser," "Search the German 
pockets," election of 1918, backed as it was 
by the whole Conservative party, had taken 
in the French pubhc; and added that half 

[61] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

the irascibility, temper and suspicion which' 
we were witnessing in Paris to-day arose 
from a feehng that they had been cheated. 
I said with all the earnestness that I could 
command that neither the Liberal party, my 
husband, or anyone else in England in- 
tended to quarrel with France; that it was 
equally clear that this view was held in 
America, and therefore vital for the peace 
of the world that we should try and under- 
stand one another and keep together. 

He was eloquent in his agreement, told 
me how devoted he was to the French people ; 
and added that he felt quite sure the misun- 
derstandings would gradually pass away. 

After signing and giving me a facsimile 
copy of the message which he had delivered 
at the close of the Washington Conference, 
we parted. 

I went to the Rock Creek Cemetery with 
my cousin, Nan Tennant, to see the Adams 
tomb by St. Gaudens. It is a great work, 
and clutches at your heart. I sat for some 
time on the circular marble seat and looked 
[62] 



THE WHITE HOUSE 

at the beautiful bronze statue. It reminded 
me of the hues in Richard II: 

"Oh! but they say the tongues of dying 

men 
Enforce attention, like deep harmony." 

Although the hooded and austere figure 
takes you far away from all that moves, and 
is an emblem of Death, the deep and pitying 
eyes speak to those who will listen both of 
Love and of Hope. I thought as I looked 
at it, what a transfiguring effect a statue like 
that might have, could it be removed to 
Paris or Berlin. 

In the afternoon I visited ex-President 
Wilson. His wife greeted me with kindness 
and affection, and immediately showed me 
into the library where her husband was sit- 
ting erect upon a chair near the bookshelves. 
His eye was bright, his mind clear, and no 
one looking at his distinguished face could 
have imagined that he was ill. I could not 
conceal my emotion when I told him how 
often we had thought of him. He seemed 
hopeful about himself, and said he had still 
much to do, as there was a stern fight in front 

[63] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

of him. He asked me if I did not think things 
were looking better for my husband and 
"your great party"; adding how closely, and 
with what hope he and others were watching 
the present political situation in England. 
I told him that he had had the one fine idea, 
and that all the world was fumbling to fol- 
low in its track; adding that the League of 
Nations was applauded upon every Liberal 
platform. He made me promise to go and 
see him on my return to Washington, and 
after a short conversation about nothing in 
particular, the fear of tiring him made me 
get up and say good-bye. 

I went on to the French Embassy where 
I spent over an hour with my old friend M. 
Jusserand. I found him very unhappy: and 
when he discussed with frankness and with- 
out exaggeration the feelings that were ani- 
mating Paris, I thought he made out an ex- 
cellent case for what appears, for the mo- 
ment, to be a lack of reason in his compa- 
triots. He showed me what Lord Lee had 
said on Naval Limitation in December at 
Washington, where he misquoted from Cap- 
[64] 



THE WHITE HOUSE 

tain Castex's French articles on submarine 
warfare, actually omitting from the context 
"ainsi raisonnent les Allemands", which sur- 
prised me very much. 

I said I was quite sure that there had 
been some mistake, and that our Admiralty 
would instantly offer a public apology if the 
affair could be brought to their notice; he 
said that on Januaiy 7 the Quai d'Orsay 
had explained, but that nothing further had 
passed. That in the same article of which 
Lord Lee had reversed the meaning, Captain 
Castex had made pointed allusion ''aw role 
de salubrite politique^ sauvant la liberie du 
monde, joue par la Grande Bretagne pen- 
dant la gtierre'\ 

I told him that we were too far away to 
know what was happening, and that it was 
more than probable that Lord Lee had al- 
ready apologised; that it was a deplorable 
blunder as the desire of the French to in- 
crease their submarines was understood by 
the average Englishman to be a menace 
against Great Britain, as presumably his 

[65] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

country would never fight Germany on the 
sea. 

He said that every nation would have to 
maintain for itself some reserve of force 
since they had agreed to a large diminution 
of their armies. I begged him to be pa- 
tient, and to remember that the 1918 elec- 
tion — so painfully encouraging to the nat- 
ural desire on the part of the French to 
pursue a poHcy of revenge — ^was not a true 
reflection of British pubhc opinion; that 
perhaps we were lacking in imagination but 
we would never believe in crushing a de- 
feated foe, or trying to keep him down for 
ever. That since no one could get rid of 
the German race, and France had to remain 
their neighbour, it appeared to be more sen- 
sible to try and discourage hate which was 
unproductive ; and that there was little choice 
for them unless their intention was to pre- 
pare slowly and steadily for another war. 
He disclaimed all idea of revenge, pointing 
out that we were an island without frontiers, 
and that twice within the recollection of one 
generation their industrious and arrogant 
[66] 



THE WHITE HOUSE 

neighbour had not only killed their people, 
but laid waste their territory, and added that 
he and his compatriots did not feel their 
moral and financial sufferings had been 
treated either with sufficient sympathy or 
justice. 

He argued extremely well, and I felt as I 
left him that we ought to do everything 
possible to remove the suspicions, and heal 
the wounds, of a country at whose side we 
have fought and died. 

I dined that night in a company of fifty 
at the British Embassy and had some talk 
with our Ambassador, Sir Auckland 
Geddes. 



[67] 



VI: DETROIT AND CHICAGO 



VI 
DETROIT AND CHICAGO 

GUEST OF women's CLUB VISITS FORD 

WORKS LOVELY MRS. MINOTTO BONUS 

AND DISABLED SOLDIERS 

THE next morning we left Washington 
for Detroit, where I met with a warm 
welcome and lectured with success. I was 
entertained by the Women's City Club, at 
whose original invitation I had gone to 
Detroit. They were interesting women who 
all had some work of their own to do, and 
talked to me about serious matters with 
keenness and freedom. I told them, in say- 
ing good-bye, that I had been honoured by 
meeting them at lunch, and hoped some of 
them would write when they had time and 
tell me a little more about their lives. 

After lunch we motored in a beautiful 
Hudson car — lent to us through the kindness 

[71] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

of Mr. and Mrs. Chapin who had been in- 
troduced to me by my artist friend Nellie 
Komroff — ^to the great Ford works at High- 
land Park. I regret to say I have never 
understood machinery, and the deafening 
noise, smell of oil, and endless walking ex- 
hausted me. I was also unlucky in finding 
Mr. Ford away, as I would have much liked 
to have met him. He is a man who has ren- 
dered a great service to his country, as he 
has put at the disposal of nearly everybody 
automobiles of low price and high quality. 

We travelled that night to Columbus in 
the same sort of horrible train — shaky, hot, 
and stopping outside before jerking into the 
stations. Upon our arrival, a stranger came 
up to us on the platform and said he hoped 
we would let him take us and our luggage 
to any place we liked ; that he had loved my 
book and was going to hear my lecture. We 
were delighted to accept his invitation and 
were whizzed off to the hotel. Mr, Jeffries, 
the owner of the motor, was more than kind 
and enthusiastic. I tried to distinguish his 
[72] 



DETROIT AND CHICAGO 

handsome face in a ballroom where I spoke 
in the evening, but he was in the gallery, 
and I was too nervous to look much about 
me. 

Ex-Governor Campbell made a witty 
introductory speech and encouraged my lis- 
teners to ask me questions. When it was 
all over, I was surrounded by various ladies 
and gentlemen of the audience who intro- 
duced themselves and each other to me and 
asked if I would not eat ices and drink 
punch, but I was dropping with fatigue and 
even my handsome friend who was full of 
congratulations, could not prevent me from 
staggering off to bed. 

I had received a wire from my manager 
begging me to go by the 7 a.m. train next 
morning to Chicago in time to see the re- 
porters in the evening. The prospect of 
this gave me a sleepless night, especially as 
I was disturbed, first at midnight by a 
messenger boy with an album which he 
wished me to sign, and again at two in the 
morning by the night watchman who said 
I had neglected to lock my door. I used un- 

[73] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

parliamentary language, telling him that 
nothing would induce me to lock my door, 
and after an unsuccessful attempt to settle 
down, I turned on the light and read "If 
Winter Comes." 

The originality and pathos of this won- 
derful study reduced me to tears and, more 
dead than alive, at 5.30 a.m. I told my maid 
I would have my bath. 

The reporters at Chicago were very civil 
and, interspersed with flash-lights, I got 
through the interviews as well as I could. 
One of the young ladies, following me to 
the lift, said: 

"I wish you hadn't been so charming and 
polite. I would like you to have just 
rushed at me and pulled my hair out so that 
I could have got the story." 

I looked at her in surprise and disgust as 
Mr. Horton elbowed me into the lift. 

I dined that night with a very old friend 
of mine, Count Minotto, and met the first 
woman of real beauty that I have seen since 
I came here. Mrs. Minotto walked into the 
room with long white arms and a transpar- 
[74] 



DETROIT AND CHICAGO 

ently pale face; her dark hair brushed in 
waves off her forehead was knotted loosely 
at the back of her neck, and her beautiful 
eyes glowed with welcome. We talked a 
trois for three hours and before going away 
she took me into her night nursery. The 
nurse woke up, but her lady told her not 
to move, and after looking at a handsome 
little boy, she glided to the side of a white 
cradle. Very tall, in a clinging black crepe 
dress, I was struck by the beauty of her at- 
titude, and the tenderness of her expres- 
sion as, leaning across the cot, she removed 
the coverlet for me to see her little sleeping 
baby. 

I lectured the next night to the biggest 
and most intelligent audience I had faced 
since Boston, and when it was over people 
came on to the stage to congratulate me 
and ask for my autograph. 

On the morning of the 22nd, having asked 
to see the big Mihtar^^ Hospital, a friend of 
Mr. Horton's — who had been his secretary 
during his Foreign Office work in Paris — 
took us out to see the Speedway Hospital. 

[75] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

We had a long and adventurous drive, 
skidding in circles on the ice, although we 
went at an almost funereal pace. Puffs of 
steam came up from my feet which seemed 
to emerge from a furnace. Mr. Horton in- 
sisted on stopping at a garage for fear the 
car would catch fire, and our chauffeur in a 
rough-and-ready manner poured cans of 
water down the window spaces to do what he 
could to cool the car. 

On an^iving at the hospital we were 
greeted by interviewers and doctors (the lat- 
ter in khaki), — we had taken with us Miss 
AUard, a lady reporter of first rate intelli- 
gence and fine manners, — and we started to 
walk round. The military doctor wanted 
naturally enough to show me the hospital, 
which I should imagine to be the largest and 
most perfectly equipped in the world. This 
solid building extends for over half a mile, 
and is several storeys high; but I wanted to 
see the patients, and I loathe long passages 
and operating paraphernalia. With diffi- 
culty I was finally permitted to see the 
wounded. 
[76] 



DETROIT AND CHICAGO 

It is difficult to make conversation with 
tired men acclimatized to pain and bed, but 
I was glad to meet and talk to them. 

I have a feeling, which may be wrong, that 
they are not getting the attention they de- 
serve in this country of money and movies, 
but the hospital was magnificent, and there 
at any rate, they are treated with efficiency 
and understanding. 

Perhaps I am not competent to judge, 
but from what I have observed, the men who 
fought in the war — many of whom have 
been either permanently disabled or finan- 
cially handicapped — are in danger of being 
forgotten, not by the Government either in 
the States or any other part of the world, 
but by the private individual. 

The bonus over here, even if it passes, 
can never be an excuse for the rich and 
leisured not to go among the wounded 
either at their homes or in the hospitals. 
Gassed, crippled and shell-shocked, their 
outlook at the best can but be forlorn, and 
I am haunted by a fear that in the hustle 
of life and what is erroneously called the "re- 

[77] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

turn to normality," the crippled and 
wounded are neglected. It is understand- 
able that men in business should want to 
make money, but business principles should 
not be mainly the reflection of personal inter- 
ests and you may pay too high a price for 
making your fortune. 

Excepting for myself I saw no stranger 
in the crowded wards of this immense hos- 
pital, and from answers to my questions, I 
do not think it is the practice among wo- 
men over here to visit them. 



[78] 



VII: PITTSBURGH AND 
ROCHESTER 



I 



VII 
PITTSBURGH AND ROCHESTER 

MEETS AN INTERESTING REPORTER — COMPLI- 
MENTS FROM DR. HOLLAND PULLMAN 

CAR INCONVENIENCES — MARGOT SEES 
HER FIRST FLAPPER 

AFTER travelling all night in a train 
that would not be tolerated for a day 
in England, we jolted into Pittsburgh at 
6.30 a.m. on the morning of the 23rd. Re- 
porters and photographers waited in the sit- 
ting room to see me after breakfast and, 
giddy from the journey, I put my feet upon 
a sofa and awaited their intelHgent questions. 
I spoke to three women and one man. 
The women asked me if I did not think they 
were advancing rapidly as a nation; I an- 
swered that no doubt interest in interna- 
tional politics was making them less pro- 
vincial, and with their vitality, intelligence, 

[81] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

and resources, their country was bound to 
exercise enormous political influence in the 
future, if it was not already doing so. I ob- 
served the male reporter demurred to this; 
he said that the men of ideas and captains 
of industry were fighting each other all the 
time, and that the American press pan- 
dered to the public taste by keeping them in 
ignorance of the truth. The ladies chal- 
lenged this and, addressing him as "Bruce," 
asked if he thought they did not revere their 
great men and all that was worth while; 
adding that they were a young and free 
nation and, if anything, going far too fast. 

Appealing to me, I felt obliged to say 
I thought they were the most genuine and 
hospitable of people, but that in spite of 
being always in a hurry I had found them 
slow; nor could I honestly say I thought 
them a free nation. I was heartily sup- 
ported by the solitary man, who asked the 
ladies where they had observed either the 
great men, or the reverence; he said that 
materialism was sapping the soul of Amer- 
ica, that their men of intellect were choked 
[82] 



PITTSBURGH AND ROCHESTER 

out, and in an aside to me in French, while 
the photographers were taking flash-lights, 
begged me to let him stay on after the ladies 
had departed. I assented, and when the 
oft repeated enquiry as to what I thought 
of "flappers" came up, I listened with ab- 
sent mind and without committing myself 
to a subject that, while disturbing to the 
morals of the female questioners, bores me 
to such an extent that I almost scream when 
it is mentioned. 

After the ladies had gone Mr. Horton 
returned with "Bruce." He was the most 
interesting reporter that I have met up till 
now. 

He said he did not know what had hap- 
pened to the spirit of his fellow-countrymen. 
Whether it was from temporary restless- 
ness — following the chaos of present condi- 
tions — or from a native and ingrained lack 
of reflection, but that jazz, hustle and head- 
lines were killing the soul of the American 
people. 

"There is a perpetual antagonism between 
the machine, the press, the money makers, 

[83] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

and those who are groping in the darkness 
to be free. When they see the Light, and 
know the Truth, it will be as bad over here 
as it is in Russia to-day, and, Mrs. As- 
quith," he added, "why should this be? We 
have men of ideas, and are young and keen ; 
why must what is fine be inarticulate? You 
won't believe me, but in this very hotel I 
heard one man say to another: 

" 'I never read a line that is not going 
to profit me in commerce.' 

"Imagine, after these five years of anguish 
all over the world, that such a thing could 
be said! I'm a poor man, never likely to 
arrive, but I would rather starve than say a 
thing like that." 

"Have you read 'If Winter Comes'?" I 
asked. 

He answered that he had, and told me 
he had been deeply moved over it ; but did I 
beheve that such a man as Mark Sabre could 
ever exist ; did I not think he had emanated 
from a sensitive and creative power, but 
was not quite a real being. I replied that 
it was just because Mark Sabre was so hu- 
[84] 



PITTSBURGH AND ROCHESTER 

man, and made by God as well as Hutchin- 
son, that the book was great. 

"If we cared enough, we all have it in 
us to develop some of Sabre's qualities, but 
we must be equally independent of public 
opinion, equally tolerant and, above all, 
equally selfless and loving," I said. 

"You may be right, but what good, after 
all, did it do him?" 

"Of course," I repUed, "if every time we 
do or say the right thing we expect to suc- 
ceed, matters would be very simple. It is 
because we are always meeting with rebuffs 
that hfe is so comphcated. We must peg 
away doing what we can; fundamentally 
humble and despising popular opinion. Be- 
lieve me, you are not the only country ex- 
posed to the temptations you speak of. We 
can only overcome these eternal inequali- 
ties by pity and self-sacrifice, and of this 
we have been given an immortal example." 

He got up, and, shaking me firmly by 
the hand, said : 

"It was just as well that Christ was cru- 
cified when He was, for He would not long 

[85] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

have survived the hate and antagonism that 
His ideas provoked among the conven- 
tional, the successful, and the governing 
classes." 

In the afternoon I was taken over the 
Carnegie Buildings. By the kindness of Mr. 
Church I was rolled about in a chair, and 
enjoyed the most wonderful institution of 
its sort that exists. Dr. Holland, who in- 
formed me that he was not only acquainted 
with all my hterary friends in England, but 
with most of the crowned heads of Europe, 
accompanied us. Stuffed animals in huge 
glass cases do not usually attract me, but 
at the Carnegie Institute they are presented 
with such life-like skill that I begged to be 
introduced to the man who had arranged 
them. He was brought down in a lift from 
his work, and after shaking hun warmly by 
the hand, I told him how proud I was to 
meet so great an artist. 

Dr. Holland, my chairman of that night, 
was kind enough to give me the rough copy 
of his introductory speech: 
[86] 



PITTSBURGH AND ROCHESTER 

"Ladies and Gentlenien, neighbours, and 
friends," he said. 

"Written history has been called a 'tis- 
sue of lies/ Most historians, like portrait 
painters, feel it to be their duty to impart 
to the characters whom they are describing 
a glamour, which in many cases is more or 
less superhuman or super-diabolical as the 
case may be, and to represent circumstances 
as they happened in the light of the preter- 
natural. Now and then there arises a writer 
who is gifted with the quality to see things 
as they really are, and who, to use a current 
phrase, *calls a spade a spade.' In an age 
of pretence, it is to many more or less shock- 
ing to have such persons take up the pen 
and, with frankness born of native honesty, 
tell the truth as he or she may distinctly per- 
ceive it. Society is so used to 'diplomatic 
courtesies' that when the truth-teller arrives, 
society 'takes a fit,' seeing its illusions van- 
ish. Its would-be idols which have been pro- 
claimed as made of pure gold, are found to 
be gilded clay, its devils not so devilish after 
all, and the daring act of the truth-teller is 

[87] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

vigorously denounced by an age which calls 
for nothing but compliments. 

"We have all read, at least I have, with 
great appreciation, coupled with no small 
degree of amusement, Mrs. Margot As- 
quith's * Autobiography.' I particularly en- 
joyed it because it gave her impressions of 
many people whom I have met and known. 

"Mrs. Asquith is the wife of the great 
man who was the prime minister of Eng- 
land at the outbreak of the World War. 
She is here to-day in a city which bears the 
name of that prime minister of England 
who held the helm of state during the Na- 
poleonic wars. 

"I have the honour of presenting Mrs. 
Margot Asquith, wife of the Right Honour- 
able Herbert Henry Asquith. She is one 
of the most famous women of England." 

Hampered by the knowledge that we 
were to catch the night train to Rochester, 
and inexperienced in timing what I have to 
say, I found when I sat down that I had 
cut my lecture short by half an hour. To 
[88] 



PITTSBURGH AND ROCHESTER 

make up for this, and encouraged by people 
in the front row reaching up to shake my 
hand, I invited them to come on to the plat- 
form. They trooped up in large numbers 
and I held an informal reception which met 
with unexpected success. 

We drove in silence to the station. I had 
a conviction which my secretary did not at- 
tempt to contradict that I had been a failure. 
Mr. Horton said he feared the news of my 
curtailed lecture might reach the influen- 
tial press and prejudice those who might 
want to hear me in the towns in which I was 
booked to speak. Knowing in my heart that 
I had on every occasion received more praise 
than I deserved, and being of a tempera- 
ment that is not knocked out by failure, I 
tried to cheer him up while the nigger was 
arranging my bed, but without the smallest 
success. 

The trains, both in the States and in the 
Dominion, have every fault ; those in Canada 
being even worse than in the United States. 
If you travel by day you are one of twenty- 
four men, women, and children who sit on 

[89] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

hard revolving chairs eyeing one another. 
You cannot stretch your hmbs, or smoke a 
cigarette, and while your ears are deafened 
by shrieking babies, your legs are scorched 
by boiling pipes. If you are rich enough, 
you may get a drawing room, but they do 
not have them on every train. When you 
travel by night men and women are on top 
of one another, buttoned behind an avenue 
of green cotton curtains. You cannot get 
your hot water bottles filled, or have tea 
in the morning. While staggering to your 
private berth between the leaps of the loco- 
motive you are lucky if you do not fall over 
the protruding feet of j'^our fellow travellers, 
or find yourself sitting on the face of a 
sleeping lady lying jjerdue behind the hang- 
ings. Privacy is unknown, and though I 
have travelled for thousands of miles I 
have not yet met the train that, unless you 
have the balance of a ballet girl, will not 
give you concussion of the spine or brain. 
After a sleepless night we arrived at Ro- 
chester where I seized the morning papers. 
Thanks to a charming reporter, Mr. C. M. 
[90] 



PITTSBURGH AND ROCHESTER 

Vining, who had come a long way to hear me 
speak at Pittsburgh, I had an excellent 
review. 

My stay was so short at Rochester, where 
I lectured under the auspices of the Press 
Club, that I had no time to form any im- 
pressions of the place, but the people were 
all very good to me. 

On the 26th we met Mr. Horton's mother 
at Buffalo, a refined, charming, old lady, who 
travelled in the train to Toronto with us. 

Meeting Mr. Vining in the passage I 
thought if I brought him into our drawing 
room it would give my secretary an oppor- 
tunity of speaking to his mother, and in- 
vited him to join us. We had an excellent 
talk and I told him that, for the first time 
in my life, I had seen a "flapper." While 
waiting in the sunny street outside Buffalo 
station, I had seen two young, short-skirted 
giggling girls, walking with their admirers 
who were armed with kodaks. One of the 
young men threw a girl over his shoulder 
who stretched out her legs while the other 
photographed her. I added that, while pray- 

[91] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

ing that I would never again be interviewed 
upon the subject, I would be in a better 
position to answer my ardent questioners in 
the future. 



[92] 



VIII: TORONTO AND 
MONTREAL 



VIII 
TORONTO AND MONTREAL 

MARGOT TELLS A MARK TWAIN STORY — CAP- 
TURES TORONTO audience; kisses char- 
woman MONTREAL LADIES QUELLING 

AND CRITICAL 

THAT evening we arrived at Toronto 
and I lectured on the 29th. My chair- 
man, the Rev. Byron Stauffer, made a won- 
derful speech, and I was listened to by an 
attentive and intelligent audience. 

I find Prohibition a finii^ful topic of dis- 
cussion. 

For the information of anyone who may 
think, as I did, that drink has decreased, and 
that in consequence everyone over here is 
wise, sober and happy, I can only say the 
reverse is the truth. 

I cannot write of the poorer classes, on 
whom, in any case, the law is hard, but 
among the rich I do not suppose there was 

[95] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

ever so much alcohol concealed and enjoyed 
as at the present moment in America. 
Young men and maidens, who before this 
exaggerated interference would have been 
content with the lightest of wines, think it 
smart to break the law every day and night 
of their lives. I related to my audience that 
Mr. Clemens, (better known as Mark 
Twain), had taken me in to dinner many 
years ago at the house of a namesake of 
mine (Mrs. Charles Tennant, whose daugh- 
ter Dorothy married Stanley) and had told 
me of a great American temperance orator 
who, having exercised his voice too much, 
had asked the chairman to provide milk 
instead of water at his meeting. Turning 
to the Rev. Byron Stauffer, who is a great 
temperance preacher — of which I was un- 
aware — I said, 

"The chairman — probably a kind man 
like my own — put rum into the milk, and 
when the orator, pausing in one of his most 
dramatic periods, stopped to clear his 
throat, he drained the glass, and putting it 
down, exclaimed, 
[96] 



TORONTO AND MONTREAL 

"Gosh! what cows!" 

I went on to tell of a lady who was let- 
ting her house, and, after instructing the 
auctioneer as to the value of her chairs, fur- 
niture and china, had left him in the dining 
room where the side-board had several bot- 
tles of wine and whiskey on it. She waited 
for a long time hoping he would return to 
show her the inventory, but as he did not 
appear she went into the dining room where 
she found him drunk upon the floor. She 
looked at the paper he held in his hand and 
read, 

*'To one revolving carpet." 

Not wishing to repeat the mistake I had 
made in Pittsburgh, I spoke for an hour and 
fifteen minutes, longer than which no one 
can be expected to endure, and as we had 
some time before catching a midnight train, 
I invited my audience on to the stage. At 
this the platform was stormed, and I was 
seized by hands and arms, showered with 
compliments and, never at any time a robust 
figure, so crowded and crushed that I felt 
suffocated. My reverend chairman did his 

[97] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

best, but it was not until Mr. Horton, in a 
voice of thunder, begged them not to mob 
me as I had to catch a train, that I was al- 
lowed to move. They all rushed to the stage 
door shouting, 

"We think you are wonderful!" "Why 
can't you stay with us?" "You must come 
back!" "You're perfectly lovely!" etc. 

We had to lock one of the doors of the 
green room, but while I was given brandy, 
and congratulated by my chairman and his 
family, a very old charwoman peeped in at 
another entrance, saying with emotional 
timidity, 

"Excuse me, but though I am only a poor 
old woman who sweeps the stage, I would 
like to shake hands with you. The last fa- 
mous person that I spoke to was Mme. 
Calve, over whom we were all crazy; I may 
say she let me kiss her hand." 

I turned and kissed the old lady on both 
her wrinkled cheeks, at which she blest me 
and burst into tears. I felt like doing the 
same, but was steadied by the presence of 
my jolly chairman and his relations. It was 
[98] 



TORONTO AND MONTREAL 

with a feeling of tense gratitude that I heard 
the announcement of our car. Clinging to 
the arm of my secretary I swayed through 
an enthusiastic crowd gathered on the pave- 
ment. They were cheering, waving hand- 
kerchiefs, and throwing up their hats. Half 
of the audience appeared to have waited and 
collected round our motor, and we had the 
greatest difficulty in reaching it. Knowing 
that this sort of thing will probably never 
happen to me again, and with a touch of 
vanity that I seldom feel, I wished my hus- 
band had been there to witness my unex- 
pected triumph. 

Upon our arrival in Montreal I saw the 
reporters, and in the afternoon I made my 
speech. 

I was introduced at His Majesty's The- 
atre, by a delightful woman, a relative of 
the well known Lady Drummond — Mrs. 
Huntley Drummond — and spoke to a lady- 
like assemblage in a blizzard of draughts. 
To quote my beloved and early friend, Mr. 
John Hay, "I chill like mutton gravy," and 
had it not been for my chairwoman who left 

[99] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

the stage to bring me my fur boa, I must 
have contracted a permanent catarrh which 
would have reduced my voice to a whisper. I 
was reUeved — a f eehng which I thought the 
audience shared — when my lecture was over. 

His Majesty's Theatre is an odious place 
to speak in, and whether from the fatigue 
of a night journey, or the refinement of my 
female listeners, I formed an unfavourable 
impression of the intellectual manners and 
vitality of Montreal. When I retired to 
the wings of the stage I pointed out to Mrs. 
Drummond two women in the front row 
whose attention and enthusiasm had made 
all the difference to me during the lecture. 
One had a masculine face, with an earnest 
and beautiful expression, and her neigh- 
bour was a lovely creature. 

"Those," she said, "are Mrs. Hayter 
Reed and Mrs. Lawford." 

Luckily for me they came up to the 
green room, accompanied by Oswald Bal- 
four — Mihtary Secretary to the Governor 
General — followed by an old man with a 
huge bag of golf clubs, and several other 
[100] 



TORONTO AND MONTREAL 

friendly people. The old man showed me 
a photograph of my father given to him 
on the links at Carnoustie, which touched 
me deeply; and my friends in the front row, 
after embracing me on both cheeks, assured 
me they had been thrilled by all that I had 
said, and only longed to see more of me. 
Mrs. Drummond — a woman of rare in- 
tellect — joined in this praise, and after 
Oswald — whose mother. Lady Francis 
Balfour, is the finest woman speaker in 
England — said that my voice-production, 
general manner and delivery were profes- 
sional, I retired from a quelling and critical 
company. 

My host that night was Sir Frederick 
Taylor, and I met Lady Drummond and 
Mr. Charles Hosmer in his beautiful house. 
He was more than kind to me, and I found 
that they knew most of my personal friends. 
When Lady Drummond said that I had 
a beautiful smile, and the papers that I had 
a golden voice, I felt less exhausted on my 
journey to Ottawa. 

[101] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

No one who has not been on tour in 
America can imagine the fatigue of crowded 
elevators, shaky trains, and perpetual trav- 
elling. 



[102] 



IX: IN CANADA'S CAPITAL 



IX 
IN CANADA'S CAPITAL 

APATHY AND BREEDING OF OTTAWA'S AUDI- 
ENCE INTIMATE TALK WITH PREMIER 

MACKENZIE KING — THE STATUE OF "siR 
GALAHAD" AND ITS STORY 

WE arrived at Ottawa on the first of 
March and lunched with Sir George 
Perky and his wife (who had befriended me 
upon the Carmania), Lady Perley is a 
treasure of kindness and understanding, 
and nothing I could ever do will repay her. 
At lunch I met Mr. Meighen and the 
Canadian Premier. In inviting the defeated 
Minister and Mr. MacKenzie King to meet 
each other, my hostess reminded me of the 
early days where in my father's house Mr. 
Gladstone, Lord Randolph Churchill, and 
other Cabinet Ministers of rival parties met 
and discussed politics. 

[105] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

I was grateful to Mr. Meighen for the 
cordiality with which he greeted me, as the 
inventive Canadian press had added im- 
promptu reflections of their own to what I 
had said of him. I sat next to Mr. Mac- 
Kenzie King, but as we had no opportunity 
of private conversation, he invited me to go 
to his house for supper after the lecture. 

The capital of the Dominion is a beauti- 
ful town, wonderfully situated, and in spite 
of being covered with snow, was alive and 
radiant with spangles and sunshine. 

A greater contrast to the audiences of 
New York, Boston, Chicago, Rochester or 
Toronto, than the one I addressed in Ot- 
tawa could hardly be imagined, and I rec- 
ognised some of the apathy and breeding 
which had characterised my listeners in 
Montreal. I was introduced to several 
select and fashionable people and one gen- 
tleman gave me an inventory of our British 
aristocracy, most of whom he had known 
and stayed with. I felt like putting my 
arm on his shoulder and saying with sym- 
pathy, "Never mind!" but refrained. When 
[106] 



INi CANADA'S CAPITAL 

the lecture was over I motored to Mr, 
King's private apartments. 

The Canadian Premier is a man after my 
own heart; shrewd, straight, modest and 
cultured. I was surprised to find how 
much he knew, not only of the political 
situation in England, but of the chief char- 
acters concerned in it. After discussing Mr. 
Lloyd George, Mr. Churchill, Lord Birken- 
head, and Mr. Bonar Law's Canadian 
friend Lord Beaverbrook, we talked of Sir 
Wilfred Laurier, President Harding, and 
Mr. Hughes. He spoke with genuine ad- 
miration of Mr. Hughes's speech and the 
Washington Conference and agreed with 
me in condemnation of the many futile con- 
fabulations that had preceded it. 

He asked me about the Irish Free State 
and Labour conditions in England. As he 
had settled most of the Canadian strikes he 
was interested in unemployment. 

I told him the "land fit for heroes to live 
in" was a less fashionable resort than was 
generally supposed; and that thanks to the 
policy of "official reprisals" the ground 

[107] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

had not been prepared in a manner to en- 
courage either Craig or Collins to place im- 
plicit confidence in the Coalition. He told 
me that reprisals had come as a shock to all 
thoughtful people; and, pointing to a fine 
Italian picture of Our Lord hanging on the 
wall, asked me if His life had captivated me 
as much as it had him. 

I said that following in His steps ap- 
peared to me to be the only chance we could 
ever have of acquiring that purity of heart 
which would enable us to see God; and 
walked up to examine the picture. 

It does not take a long sojourn in Can- 
ada to prophecy that Mr. MacKenzie King 
will need all his courage and independence if 
he is to stand up to the hostility of his 
Consei^ative and fashionable opponents; 
but if he can make himself known to think- 
ing men his administration ought to prove 
successful. 

The next day I was again the guest of 

the premier, and met one of the two sitting 

members for Ottawa, — Mr. Hal McGiverin ; 

the Hon. Dr. Henri Beland (Minister of 

[108] 



IN CANADA'S CAPITAL 

Soldiers Civil He-establishment), who had 
been a distinguished physician in Belgium 
when the war broke out. He wrote "A 
Thousand and One Days in a Berlin Prison" 
after having been taken prisoner by the 
Germans and confined for over three years. 
During his incarceration his wife died in 
Belgium, and he was not permitted to attend 
her death-bed or her funeral. The Hon. 
George Graham, Minister of Militia, whose 
only son was killed in the War; the Hon. 
Sir Lomar Gouin, Minister of Justice, and 
the only other lady, Mrs. G. B. Kennedy, 
made up our luncheon party. We had gen- 
eral conversation, which my stepson Ray- 
mond once described as a series of "ugly 
rushes and awkward pauses", but on this 
occasion it was successful, as we discussed 
among other subjects politics and literature. 
I asked my neighbour what the statue was 
which commanded such a wonderful view 
near the Houses of Parliament. He said it 
was "Sir Galahad," and had been erected in 
memory of a deed of heroism, and had no 
other inscription upon it. He told me a 

[109] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

young man called Henry Albert Harper 
was skating with a friend when he observed 
a couple in front of him disappear into the 
river at a sudden break in the ice. He sent 
his companion to the shore for help, and 
lying down, stretched out his walking stick 
to see if the lady in the water, or her friend, 
could catch hold of it. Seeing that this was 
impossible, as they neither of them could 
reach it, he rose to his feet and took off his 
coat. The other skaters implored him not 
to attempt to rescue them as it meant cer- 
tain death. 

"What else can I do?" said young Har- 
per, and plunged into the icy current. 
Their dead bodies were found the next 
morning. 

Hearing that Mr. MacKenzie King had 
written a memoir of Harper — who had been 
his greai-est friend — I begged him to give 
me a copy of it. He sent it to me with his 
autograph in it, and asked me to sign his 
volume of my own autobiography. I was 
truly sorry to say good-bye to the Canadian 
Premier. 
[110] 



IN CANADA'S CAPITAL 

We returned to Montreal the next morn- 
ing where I found my room a garden of 
flowers given to me by Mrs. Reed, Mrs. 
Lawford and Lady Drummond. I ad- 
dressed a ballroom that night full of empty 
chairs and chandehers, but was consoled by 
my flowers, and the ladies with whom I 
afterwards went to supper; and I hope and 
think I have made lasting friendships with 
Mrs. Hayter Reed and Mrs. Lawford. 

Mrs. Reed told me that the little son of 
friends of hers who had always refused to 
meet a Jew, had disconcerted them, one 
day, by saying in a reproachful voice, 

"Mother, you ne^er told me Jesus Christ 
was a Jew." 

Seeing a distressed expression upon his 
mother's face, he added consolingly: "But 
it doesn't matter, since God was a Presby- 
terian." 

Lying awake that night, I wondered what 
I would have felt had I married a man who 
had consented to be either Governor Gen- 
eral of Canada or Viceroy of India. I can 
imagine no career, excepting perhaps that 

[111] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

of a minor royalty, that I would have 
minded as much. Not all the great func- 
tions, personal prestige, wonderful scenery, 
pig-sticking in the East, or skating in the 
Dominion, would make up to me for friend- 
ships without intimacy, and grandeur with- 
out gaiety. I came to the conclusion that 
only men of a certain kind of vanity and 
ambition, or animated by the highest sense 
of public duty could ever be found to fill 
these honourable positions. 



[112] 



X: REFLECTIONS AT LARGE 



REFLECTIONS AT LARGE 

DRAWBACKS OF AMERICAN JOURNALISM 

SENSATIONAL HEADLINES; FEAR OF THE 
PRESS — CONTROVERSY ON PROHIBITION 

WITH LORD LEE IMPRESSIONS OF U. S. 

SENATE 

WE breakfasted at 5.30 a.m. the next 
morning and arrived at New York 
at ten that night, to be greeted by a room 
full of press men. When the female re- 
porters begin by saying to me : 

"What, Mrs. Asquith, do you think, with 
your close acquaintance with the many 
trends of the working of a woman's mind, 
of the modern probability etc., etc.," I am 
reminded of Sir Walter Raleigh's excellent 
phrase, "Stumbling upwards into vacuity." 
One of these eager ladies, checking her 
more intelligent male companions, said ; 

[115] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

"Tell me, Mrs. Asquith, is it not true that 
you are indifferent to the opinion of any 
living person and enjoy saying smart and 
daring things?" I replied: 

"Indeed no! I leave that to you." 

I told them about MacKenzie King, of 
whom they had never heard, and what Mr. 
Horton and I had observed in our travels 
of the abominable consequences of Prohibi- 
tion. I said it was a measure of such ex- 
aggerated interference with private liberty 
that no truthful person could call America 
a free country. 

On my arrival I found many letters from 
England on the political crisis, and if I 
can judge at such a distance, the Coahtion 
seems doomed. 

Believing as I always have in party gov- 
ernment as the best solution for democracy, 
I think Sir George Younger deserves a Vic- 
toria Cross, and it will be interesting to see 
how many of the timid Conservatives will 
regain sufficient courage to follow him. 
The mischief that is being made between my 
husband and Lord Grey leaves me cold. 
[116] 



REFLECTIONS AT LARGE 

Their friendship is not of a kind to be easily- 
severed, and the House of Lords and the 
House of Commons are separate institu- 
tions. 

Trammelled as I have always been by an 
unfortunate combination of truthfulness 
and impatience, and exhausted by the jour- 
ney of eighteen hours, I was afraid I had 
been neither genial nor informing to the 
reporters upon my arrival in New York, 
but on looking at the papers next morning 
I found they had treated me with friendli- 
ness and courtesy. 

Journalism over here is not only an ob- 
session but a drawback that cannot be over- 
rated. Politicians are frightened of the 
press, and in the same way as bull-fighting 
has a brutalising effect upon Spain (of 
which she is unconscious), headlines of 
murder, rape, and rubbish, excite and de- 
moralise the American public. 

I would like to make it clear that it is not 
the reporters but the owners of the papers 
that should be censured. With the excep- 
tion of a few garrulous and gushing geese, 

[117] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

who think it smart to ask pert and meaning- 
less questions, the male reporters that I 
have met have not only been serious and in- 
telligent, but men with whom I have dis- 
cussed literature, politics and religion; but 
it would not pay their editors, I presume, 
to publish conversations of this character. 
On the front page of even the best news- 
papers, paragraph after paragraph is taken 
up by descriptions in poor English of devas- 
tating trivialities. Violent and ignorant 
young men, or "flappers" — in whom the 
public here seem to take an unnatural in- 
terest — ^might easily suppose that their best 
chance of success in life lay in creating a 
sensation. Of what use can it be to create 
a sensation? Who profits by it? What 
influence can this sort of thing have upon 
the morals of a great and vital nation? If 
Christ with His warnings against worldli- 
ness were to come down to-day, after giving 
Him one hearing the crowd would not 
crucify Him, they would shoot Him at 
sight. 

You have only to examine the newspaper 
[118] 



REFLECTIONS AT LARGE 

comments upon Abraham Lincoln to see 
that even in those days abuse and misrepre- 
sentation were popular. He was persecuted 
and vilified every day of his life; but, like 
my husband, he was press-proof. 

If editors would only realise it, following 
pubKc opinion instead of guiding it is ulti- 
mately dull, and makes monotonous reading. 

In England we are trying to raise our 
journahstic standards to the level of the 
United States, but, without claiming undue 
superiority, I do not think we shall succeed. 
There is enough common sense among our 
people to mitigate against any such misfor- 
tune, and we have only to recall the general 
election of 1905-6, when every morning 
paper in London, except the Daily News, 
was against us, to reahse the impotence of 
the press. 

Fear is as unproductive as it is contempti- 
ble, and until some big man has the courage 
to break the power of the press in America, 
progress will always go beyond civilisation. 

'3|& ^ ^ ^ 4fr -^ ^ 

I motored in evening dress for three hours 

[119] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

to a suburb of New York. I am so tired of 
the abominable trains that an aeroplane or 
a perambulator would be a relief, and the 
road to Montclair was full of interest. The 
sky was throbbing with carmine and gold, 
and the varying lights of green and white, 
reflected in a river sentinelled on either side 
by high black buildings and pointed towers, 
left an impression on me of Whistler-like 
beauty. 

We dined with excited and hospitable 
people and I lectured to an enthusiastic 
audience. I do not know how it is with 
professional speakers, but with the amateur 
the chairman and the audience make the 
speech. The Rev. Swan Wiers introduced 
me in an address of eloquence for which I 
thanked him warmly. 

I arrived in Providence next day to be 
interviewed by three young ladies. After 
the usual questions upon Princess Mary's 
underwear and the "flappers," one of them 
said she had come to ask me about England's 
greatest man. I told her we had so many 
[120] 



REFLECTIONS AT LARGE 

that I would be grateful if she could indi- 
cate the one she meant. 

"Will you tell me who your great men 
are?" she answered. 

"Well," I said, "we have Hardy, Kipling, 
Lord Morley, Lord Grey, Lord Buckmas- 
ter, and Mr. Balfour." 

"Oh, no!" she repHed, "I want to hear 
all about Lloyd George." 

"I fear you will have to read about him 
yourself," I said, "and if you can wade 
through the daily columns of films, flap- 
pers, murders and headlines, over here, 
to our anonymous gossip about Downing 
Street in my coimtry, you may discover 
what you want to know." 

The other ladies intervened when she re- 
torted : 

"Then you refuse to tell me?" and as — 
the electric light having gone out all over 
the hotel — we were squinting at a single 
candle, I thought it as well to put an end to 
their intelligent questions. 

The Providence audience consisted mostly 
of empty chairs, but it was an enormous hall 

[121] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

and when the lecture was over a few of the 
five hundred listeners came up to ask me to 
sign my name in various albums and on slips 
of paper. They said: 

"You have given us such a wonderful lec- 
ture to-night that you must come back 
here." To which I replied smilingly: 

"Never in this world! To speak for an 
hour and fifteen minutes to people who 
never clap is like hitting one's head against 
a wall." At which one of the ladies said: 

"You are quite right, Mrs. Asquith, there 
is great apathy and lack of manners in 
Providence." 

"Why should you clap," I said, "if you 
are not interested?" At this they all pro- 
tested. 

"We were afraid of missing a word of 
what we were enjoying," said one charming 
woman, to which I replied : 

"I would have stood as still as a statue if 
one of you had thought of cheering me!" 

We took the midnight train to New York 
where we arrived at six the next morning, 
and I felt that I was retui^ning home. 
[122] 



REFLECTIONS AT LARGE 

On March 8, the New York Times pub- 
lished on its front page: 



"lord lee defends AMERICAN YOUNG 
WOMEN 

"Mrs. Asquith's Charges Cruel, Ludi- 
crous, and L^ntrue!" 

"Speaking at the English-speaking Union 
luncheon, Lord Lee said the statement at- 
tributed to the famous country-woman of 
his now in the United States was as cruel 
as it was ludicrous and untrue. He added 
that he could testify from thirty years of 
personal observation in America, and from 
reliable information from various quarters; 
and that he was speaking seriously." 

Lord Lee has only got to travel over here 
for ten days to change his opinion. I, also, 
am speaking seriously, and am strongly in 
favour of temperance. Liquor control has 
been, among many other reforms, the po- 
litical ambition of my husband ever since 
he became a Cabinet Minister, but as what 
is called "the Trade" has the votes and bless- 

[123] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

ing of the Conservative Party in England, 
all our bills to control it were frustrated 
by the House of Lords. 

We drink less than our forbears, not 
because we are more moral, but for reasons 
of health. Our people are fond of sport; 
and you neither shoot or ride as straight if 
you indulge in champagne, port, liqueurs, 
brandies, and other drinks over night. 

The first question I was asked when I 
landed upon American soil was whether I 
approved of Prohibition. I said I thought 
it was a fine idea and an example that would 
ultimately be followed by the whole world; 
I presumed that light wines and beer would 
in time modify this somewhat exaggerated 
measure; but as most of the men convicted 
of crimes of violence had been proved to be 
under the influence of liquor, the prisons and 
asylums would gradually be emptied. I 
added that many of the famous, as well as 
young men of promise, and some of the best 
servants I had known in my life had been 
ruined by drink, and that it was a subject 
upon which I felt deeply. 
[124] 



REFLECTIONS AT LARGE 

I could see at once that what I said was 
unpopular, but I repeated the same opinion 
in all my early lectures, adding that gout, 
rheumatism, arthritis, and other nervous 
diseases have been, if not contracted, cer- 
tainly assisted by alcoholic poisoning in- 
herited from generations of men who drank 
too much. 

A very short visit over here has convinced 
me that Prohibition, as at present adminis- 
tered, is both "ludicrous and cruel." The 
well-to-do can get the drinks they want. 
Young men and women, as well as adults, 
share with their friends and admirers all the 
pleasures that go with defying the law. I 
have no doubt from what I have been told 
that the power of the Saloon League lobby 
had to be smashed, and that the men who 
accomplished it deserve the highest praise, 
but can anyone truly say the Prohibition 
law is kept? Are Mr. Volstead or Mr. 
Pussyfoot Johnson satisfied with the pres- 
ent condition of things in their country? 

There is a text in St. John, 

"The Truth shall make you free." 

[125] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

There is no lack of truth over here, but 
there is a lack of freedom, and I think the 
press which is kept informed of what is 
going on might do much more than it does 
with its powers upon this subject. 

It cannot be right for young people to see 
their parents and friends cheating the law 
every day of their lives. And which of them 
think of cheering up the poor, who presum- 
ably get as tired from their work as the idle 
get from their pleasures ! What I have said 
upon every platform and which Lord Lee, 
in a generous desire to defend the youth of 
this country, denies, is not "cruel, ludicrous, 
and untrue," but a platitude. 

I have received signed letters from every 
quarter of the country thanking me for ex- 
pressing my opinion, and will quote from 
one of them: 

''New York City, March 9, 1922. 
"Madam, 

"If you wish for very substantial proof 
of the exactitude of your remark that 
maidens get drunk at dances, all you have 
[126] 



REFLECTIONS AT LARGE 

to do is to send someone, unobtrusively, to 
[I am not going to give the name of the 
place] to obtain from the waiters and 
waitresses an account of the lamentable con- 
dition in which scores of the girls were taken 
home after two recent balls held in the Hotel 

, one of the most fashionable hotels in 

the suburbs of New York. 

"It was not the fault of the management, 
and I am told no more dances of the sort 
will be permitted there. 

"I am a very disgusted sister of one of 
the young girls, and am trying hard to 
dissuade her from accepting intoxicants at 
these parties. Yours, etc." 

[I will not publish the signature.] 

This is only one of many letters I have 
received on the same subject. 

After the New York Times had published 
Lord Lee's statement and I had made my 
position perfectly clear, I was sent a press 
cutting, from what paper I do not know. 

"Margot Lines Up with Foes of Prohibi- 
tion: she has swung round to the anti- 
prohibitionists." 

[127] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

This is characteristic of the inaccuracy of 
the American press. Editors do not dis- 
tinguish between half notes and full shouts, 
but no one need take this seriously as crime 
and headlines will soon make their readers 
forget either what Lord Lee has said, or I 
have controverted. 

On the 10th my daughter Elizabeth took 
me to a fashionable charity fete in a large 
New York ballroom, where I heard my son- 
in-law speak for the first time. I envied 
him his self-possession; for, though I am 
told that my demeanor does not betray me, 
I am so nervous before the so-called "lec- 
tures" that I eat nothing, and so exhausted 
after, that the mildest meal gives me indi- 
gestion. 

Having suffered from audiences that, 
while more than appreciative, seldom clap, 
Mrs. Frank Polk and I were determined 
that Antoine Bibesco should not experience 
the same embaiTassment. Our friendly in- 
tentions were frustrated, however, as every- 
thing he said was received with enthusiasm. 
His handsome face and fine manners, and 
[128] 



REFLECTIONS AT LARGE 

the popularity of his wife (though it is not 
usual to praise one's daughter) have made 
them much loved in this hospitable country. 

On leaving the entertainment I was way- 
laid by a female reporter: 

"Is it not true that but for his Highness 
Prince Bibesco you would never have pub- 
lished your diaries, Mrs. Asquith?" she 
asked. To which I replied : 

"I have not published my diaries. I have 
written the first volume of my autobiog- 
raphy, encouraged by some of my friends — 
but no one has criticised my literary efforts 
with more perspicacity and insight than my 
son-in-law." 

"Can you not give me a story for my 
paper?" she said. 

The gallantry of Mr. Nelson Cromwell, 
and presence of mind of Mrs. Frank Polk 
rescued me from further conversation. 

Mr. Clarence Mackay invited me to a 
concert in his beautiful house after dinner, 
where I met some of the American men that 
I am most devoted to — Mr. Polk, our ex- 
Ambassador Mr. Davis, and Colonel House. 

[129] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

I sat next to the latter with whom I had a 
good talk and, what with hearing Kreisler 
— the greatest hving violinist — and being in 
a position to observe the glowing enthusiasm 
of Elizabeth and the melancholy expression 
of her husband, I was consoled for the mid- 
night journey which we took to Washing- 
ton when the party was over. 

My love for my grand-baby, the titter of 
talk, the tissue paper of unpacking out- 
side my door, and the miawling of "Minnie" 
the cat, prevented me from resting upon my 
arrival in the morning, and when I went to 
the Senate after lunch I could hardly keep 
awake. The Four Power Treaty was being 
discussed, but the debate was languid, and 
more seats were unoccupied than Senators 
speaking. 

Except for a tribune, the Senate reminds 
me of the Chambre in Paris. Everyone 
walks about, and you cannot be sure that 
any of the Senators will speak from the seat 
that they occupied the day before, which 
makes it rather confusing to a stranger. 

At 4.30 I went to see Mr. Hughes in the 
[130] 



REFLECTIONS AT LARGE 

Department of State. He is remarkably 
handsome and has not only a striking intel- 
ligence, but charming manners. We said 
nothing worth recording. I told him what, 
alas! he must have heard a thousand times; 
the profound impression that his opening 
speech on Disarmament at the Washington 
Conference had created in my country, if 
not all over the world; and what perhaps he 
did not know so well, that there never was 
a closer feeling than that which exists be- 
tween England and America to-day. 

When I say this with all the eloquence 
I can command at every lecture, though it is 
always cheered, it is seldom reported, and I 
read in one of the papers : 

"What Mrs. Margot Asquith said about 
the hand-clasp of Great Britain and the 
United States is doubtful if not conven- 
tional," I am glad to be called conven- 
tional, but what I say is not doubtful; it is 
true. 

I see that in one of Byron's recently pub- 
lished letters, he writes to Lady Melbourne: 

[131] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

"I wish that . . . would not speak his 
speech at the Durham meeting above once 
a week after its first dehvery. 

"Ever yours most nepotically, 

"B." 

But in spite of Byron's wise warning I 
repeat the same thing in every lecture, be- 
cause I feel passionately that it is not only 
important that the English-speaking nations 
should stand side by side, but vital to the 
Peace of Europe, and I am far from origi- 
nal in thinking it. 



[182] 



XI: SYRACUSE AND BUFFALO 



XI 
SYRACUSE AND BUFFALO 

CITY OF CULTURE AND BEAUTY — NIAGARA'S 
NATURAL BEAUTY MARRED BY BILL- 
BOARDS — MARGOT READS ABOUT HERSELF 

ON' March 13 my daughter and her hus- 
band motored me to Baltimore where, 
after speaking to a responsive audience, we 
took the midnight train to Utica, and went 
from there to the Onondaga Hotel at Syra- 
cuse. This is a university city of culture and 
beauty, and I wished I had had time to see 
more of it. 

I was introduced to my audience by Dean 
Richards, a lady of ability and high stand- 
ing in the college, and several people came 
up and spoke to me behind the scenes when 
the lecture was over. 

I have received many remarkable letters 
and invitations in every city I have visited, 

[135] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

not only to lunch and dine, but even to stay- 
in private houses. Had I but realised the 
great distances over here when I left Eng- 
land, I would have started earlier, and 
made a longer tour, but I am going home 
for my son's Easter holidays and have 
therefore been obliged to refuse much hos- 
pitality. In case anyone reads these im- 
pressions, I would like them to know how 
deeply their spontaneous generosity has 
touched me. I will quote a letter which was 
put into my hands at Syracuse: 

March 13, 1922. 
*^^Mrs, Asquith, 
"Dear Madam, 

"When a person has bestowed upon an- 
other a gift — such as 'The Diary of Margot 
Asquith' — ought not the favoured one to 
give an expression of appreciation to the 
donor? I think so. And this conviction 
must be the excuse for my making so bold 
as to address you, Mrs. Asquith, to thank 
you for giving us — who live in so different 
a world to that of yours — a glimpse of your 
[136] 



SYRACUSE AND BUFFALO 

spirit, so colorful, so vivid, so noble. And 
the charm of it is that this color, vividness, 
verve, and charm is not carried consciously 
and heavily — but is borne lightly, charm- 
ingly, like an ornament, — a jewel. 

"I am not young, nor given to raptures; 
I am older than you, and I am only thank- 
ing you for the radiance your writings have 
thrown upon my life; and when to-morrow 
night I see and hear you at the Opera House 
in Syracuse, you may perhaps care to know 
that one among many happy people is en- 
joying a completeness she had not dreamed 
would come to her. 

"With all good wishes to Mrs. Asquith 
here on our shores, and beyond the sea, I am, 
"Sincerely yours, 

"E. A. S ." 

There have been other letters I would like 
to quote, but for fear of boring my readers 
I will end with the following, written from 
Chicago, 

''To Margot Asquith, 

"I read your volume a year ago and at 

[137] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

once decided if it was a girl I would call her 
*Margot.' 

"Tuesday night at Orchestra Hall I 
heard and saw you. Your enthusiasm, your 
zest for life, the airy grace of your move- 
ments, and the charm of your smile will live 
in my memory always. 

"Here's hoping that some of the wealth 
of your qualities will go with the name 
*Margot' to my little one. 

"May you live long, Margot Asquith, is 
the wish of, 

"M. M. F. ." 

On the 16th we arrived at Buffalo, where, 
after seeing the usual army of photog- 
raphers and reporters, we motored twenty- 
five miles out to Niagara. 

I had always imagined the drive to the 
Falls would have been long, slow, danger- 
ous, and steep; that this amazing spectacle 
must be situated in a wild and lonely place, 
with possibly one romantic hotel encircled 
by balconies for the convenience of tourists 
who had travelled from great distances to 
[138] 



SYRACUSE AND BUFFALO 

see it ; whereas it is approached by a straight, 
flat, and crowded road, with tram-cars pur- 
suing their steady course the whole way 
from Buffalo City. The Niagara Falls, so 
far from being in a lonely spot, are sur- 
rounded by gasometers, steel factories, and 
chimney pots. Of their beauty and mag- 
nificence it would be as ridiculous as it would 
be presumptuous for me to write, but when 
my maid said she had expected them to be 
more "outlandish," I did not contradict her. 

Mr. Horton's brother told me of an Irish- 
man who, on being asked to express his 
opinion, answered, "I don't see what is to 
prevent the water from going over," but I 
felt almost too depressed to laugh. 

You might have supposed that the whole 
neighbouring population would have risen 
like an SLTUiy to protest against a hideous 
city of smoke and steel being erected round 
the glorious Falls of Niagara, and it was 
characteristic of the population of Buffalo 
that our chauffeur did not pull up at the 
Falls, but, upon our stopping him, said he 

[139] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 



had presumed we wanted to go to the power 
station. 

If I ever return to America, I should not 
be surprised if a line of safe-sailing steam- 
ships had been engineered to go down the 
Niagara Falls. 

I do not think that in Scotland either the 
country of Scott or the Ettrick shepherd, 
nor the passes of Killiecrankie or Glencoe, 
will ever be deformed for commercial pur- 
poses. 

As a complete outsider with a short and 
hurried experience of the United States, 
this has struck me more than anything else. 
Beauty, which is so obvious in the archi- 
tecture and other things, seems to be under- 
estimated, and where nature should domi- 
nate, I have been shocked on every road that 
I have travelled by the huge billboards and 
advertisements of the most flamboyant kind, 
which irritate the eye and distort the vision 
of what otherwise would be unforgettable 
and inspiring. It is much the same every- 
where. In Chicago the Michigan Boule- 
[140] 



SYRACUSE AND BUFFALO 

vard, with the lovely lake on one side and 
grand buildings on the other, running at 
enormous width for a long distance, is one 
of the finest broadways in the world ; but it 
is spoilt by a vulgar erection at the end, ad- 
vertising something or other against the sky, 
in electric bulbs of rapid and changing 
colours. 

I found the people I met were chiefly in- 
terested in the following report of indigna- 
tion meetings: 

"Blame Girls for 'Snugglepupping' and 
'Petting Parties' in Chicago." 

"Male 'Flappers' Parents hold Indigna- 
tion Meeting." 

"Boys who don't follow Fair Companions' 
Pace called 'Sissies, Poor Boobs and Flat 
Tires'." 

I have only seen two headings that have 
really interested me. One was: 

"A Good Name." 

The other: "Wanted, a Rare Man: ag- 
gressive yet industrious, fighting, yet tact- 
ful and dignified. He must have a good 

[141] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

education, and an appearance which will 
give him an entree into the best homes." 

I would much like to be presented to any 
of the men who will answer these advertise- 
ments, though I have no doubt they are 
tumbling over one another. 

From Buffalo we went on to Cincinnati 
where I read in one of the newspapers : 



MARGOT 

"Margot Asquith, wife of the former 
Prime Minister of England, is in Cincinnati. 

"Men who like to believe that they know 
more than their wives would not be happy 
with a woman like Margot for wife. She 
knows more than most men, and there is 
scarcely anything she cannot or will not 
talk about. 

"She wrote a book that is an encyclopedia 
of the inside history of British politics and 
histoiy of her time. 

"There aren't many like Margot. Hus- 
bands who long after the honeymoon like 
to be entertained will envy Asquith his Mar- 
[142] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

got. It must me pleasant to have a Margot 
in the house." 

I expect the writer was pumng my leg — 
to use a slang expression — or possibly pity- 
ing my husband, but it amused me. 



[148] 



4 



XII: INTERESTING ST. LOUIS 



i 



XII 
INTERESTING ST. LOUIS 

MET BY THE MAYOR — ANOTHER INTELLIGENT 
REPORTER — NEWS FROM HOME AND 
VIEWS THEREON — LUNCHEON AT WOM- 
EN'S CLUB 

WE were met at St, Louis station by a 
vast crowd of photographers, report- 
ers — male and female — headed by the 
Mayor, a grand fellow called Henry W. 
Kiel. He motored me to the Hotel Statler 
where my rooms were full of roses and, in 
spite of an iron bed, we were more than 
comfortable. I am like stuff that is guaran- 
teed not to wash, so I sat down at once to 
talk to the reporters, among whom I ob- 
served one man of supreme intelligence. 
Caustic and bitter, he interrupted the fe- 
males and asked to be allowed to return to 
us after dinner. Mr. Paul Anderson and I 

[147] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

had a first rate discussion, while my secretary 
typed and telephoned till, with his usual 
consideration, he came back to send me to 
bed, where I remained like a trout on a bank 
with piles of old Times's which Mr. Ander- 
son had brought me. 

I read details, for the first time, of Mr. 
Montague's resignation, and smiled over 
the belated theory of the joint responsibil- 
ity of our British Cabinet. When one re- 
calls the many conflicting opinions ex- 
pressed hj every minister without rebuke, 
culminating in the Admiralty note upon the 
Geddes Report, the Prime Minister's in- 
dignation is more than droll. I presume the 
Conservative wing of the Coalition wanted 
to get rid of Indian Reform as interpreted 
by the Viceroy and Mr. Montague, and I 
shall watch with interest the action that Lord 
Reading will take upon the matter. 

Arresting Ghandi was as unwise as steal- 
ing a cow from a temple; but from such a 
distance political comment may be as be- 
lated as the theory of cabinet responsibil- 
ity; and the inspired agitator — beloved of 
[148] 



INTERESTING ST. LOUIS 

his people — may, for all I know, be govern- 
ing India at the present moment. 

St. Louis is among the most interesting 
cities I have visited. The Mississippi is 
conmianded upon both its banks by huge 
buildings, and spanned by grand bridges. 
There is a private park as large as the Bois 
de Boulogne, and an open air theatre with 
oak trees on either side of the stage. The 
school buildings and Washington College 
are of perfect architecture, and I was grate- 
ful to Mrs. Moore — a woman of sympathy 
and authority — for driving me out to a 
lovely club house for tea, which gave me an 
opportunity of seeing the environment. 

I was entertained the next day at a pri- 
vate luncheon given by a ladies' club and 
was glad to be sitting next to dear Mrs. 
Moore. Observing a single gentleman seated 
among the company I asked in a whisper 
who he was; upon being told he was a re- 
porter I said, in an aside to my other neigh- 
bour, that for the rest of the meal I would 
confine my remarks to: "Yes," "No," or 
"I wonder!" and "How true!" Upon this 

[149] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

the unfortunate young man was conducted 
from the room. He had a pecuharly charm- 
ing face and when I saw what had happened 
I said I was afraid I also would have to 
leave the table, as I could not allow any 
guest to be insulted for my sake; at which 
he was allowed to return. I apologised to 
him, saying that though I had imagined this 
to be an informal gathering at which no 
newspapers would be represented, I did not 
wish him to be treated with any lack of 
courtesy, and hoped he would not make 
copy out of any foolish thing I might have 
said. He was particularly nice and, al- 
though I shall probably never see what he 
has written about me, I am willing to "take 
a chance" — as they express it over here. 

After signing my name twenty-three times 
— as flattering as it was fatiguing — the 
Mayor came to fetch me away. Mrs. Moore 
and two other ladies accompanied us on a 
motor drive to see the city. The Mayor — 
who is a big man — sat rather uncomfortably 
between me and Mrs. Moore, and said that, 
with the permission of the other two ladies 
[150] 



INTERESTING ST. LOUIS 

he proposed to put his arm round my waist 
as, being engaged to speak at a meeting of 
the Boy Scouts, he would be unable to at- 
tend my lecture in the evening. I told him 
that, after this, nothing but bribery and cor- 
ruption could re-elect him as the Mayor of 
St. Louis. 

"Then I shall return to my original occu- 
pation, Mrs. Asquith; I started hfe as a 
bricklayer, and I have not forgotten my 
trade, at which I am unrivalled." 

The ladies said he was much more likely 
to be returned as their political representa- 
tive, and after asking "Joe," his chauffeur, 
to stop and enable him to buy me cigarettes, 
he took me back to the hotel. 

I found a beautiful bouquet of orchids on 
my table to which was pinned a card from 
one of the ladies whom I had met at lunch; 

"From Mrs. Hocker, with best wishes for 
a successful evening at St. Louis, to abso- 
lutely the most brilliant and interesting wo- 
man it has been my privilege to meet either 
in America or Europe." 

I need hardly say that I clung to my 

[151] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

bouquet that evening when I was escorted 
upon the stage by Judge Henry Caulfield, 
the City Counsellor. 

Mr. Anderson of the St. Louis Post-Dis- 
patch returned to talk to us after the meet- 
ing, and I can truly say that after "Bruce" 
— whose real name I never discovered — I 
found him the most interesting press-man 
that I have met. I wrote to his editor con- 
gratulating him on having such a man upon 
his staff, and received a grateful reply. 

Never having been interviewed till I ar- 
rived in this country, I do not know in what 
way reporters of intellect here would com- 
pare with ours, but it passes my compre- 
hension to understand why those that I have 
met are content to write for papers that sel- 
dom print what is either informing or in- 
teresting. 

One of them said to me : 

"We do not publish news, Mrs. Asquith, 
we concoct it." 



[152] 



XIII: KANSAS CITY AND 
OMAHA 



XIII 
KANSAS CITY AND OMAHA 

AMERICAN VOICES RARELY MUSICAL — SEES 
LOVELY COUNTRY HOME — ^DISCUSSION 

ON CHARACTER BUILDING MARGOT 

PREDICTS GREAT FUTURE FOR GOVERNOR 
ALLEN 

WE travelled to Kansas City the night 
of the lecture and were met upon our 
arrival and taken to the country house of 
Mrs. Edwin Shields. 

After greeting her, I observed her fine 
tapestries, oriental china, portraits (by Sir 
Joshua Reynolds), and other old masters, 
as well as modern French pictures. We ate 
porridge, eggs and bacon and grapefruit 
for breakfast, off an oak table with Irish 
linen napkins, and I observed the refine- 
ment of my hostess's little face, and the 
pretty quality of her voice. 

[155] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

I do not think the voices here are gener- 
ally musical ; they are nasal and a little loud 
and, though Americans have a great deal of 
geniality and love of fun, I am so slow at 
picking up the language, that I probably 
miss much of the irony and finesse that char- 
acterises our better kind of humour. The 
Canadians, who are of British stock, have a 
better sense of humour; but it is always a 
dangerous subject to write about, and when 
I remember the stupid things that evoke 
the laughter of the London public in our 
theatres, I feel I had better walk warily. 

I am Scotch, and as a nation we have 
been accused of lack of humour; I cannot 
be expected to agree with this, neverthe- 
less I remember being told in my youth of a 
man who had said: 

"Oh! aye; Jock undoubtedly jokes, but 
he jokes with facility. I joke too, but with 
difficulty." 

The French have a far finer sense of hu- 
mour than any other nation in the world, 
and all they say is a constant source of de- 
light to me. 
[156] 



KANSAS CITY AND OMAHA 

It is pardonable not to laugh at what is 
amusing, but sudden guffaws at bad jokes is 
the test of a true sense of humour. 

After breakfasting with Mrs. Shields I 
asked her to show me over her beautiful 
house. I was reminded of Glen by the 
freshness of the chintzes, and general feel- 
ing of air and comfort which I saw wherevei; 
I went. 

We started at midday for Omaha, where 
we arrived in the evening. I felt less sad 
at parting with my hostess as I knew I was 
going to spend from 7 a.m. till midnight 
with her on the 24th. She is coming to 
Europe this summer where I shall look for- 
ward to entertaining her in London, as well 
as in the country. 

After leaving her, Mr. Horton told me 
she had said to him that till she met me, she 
felt like a flower that had grown on clay 
soil, and that I had helped her to break 
into the sunhght. I was deeply touched, 
and am encouraged to hope that some day 
I may be worthy of so rare a compliment. 

Upon our arrival at Omaha we were met 

[157] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

by an open motor lent by Mrs. Kountze, 
who had invited us to stay with her in her 
town house, but fearing that three of us 
might be embarrassing, we decided to go to 
the hotel. 

Omaha is a lovely city, with avenues of 
trees on either side of wide boulevards, and 
within easy reach of stretches of wild and 
beautiful country. As our hostess had been 
obliged to go to New York, her kind rela- 
tions conducted us to see the wonderful views 
surrounding the town. 

After speaking in the afternoon to an 
encouraging audience, with Mr. Hall, the 
British Consul, as my chairman, I dined 
with Mr. and Mrs. Ward Burgess. They 
were more than hospitable, and had it not 
been for the severe figure of my secretary 
standing in the door-way, my jolly host, 
who had entertained me for two hours at 
dinner, would have prevented me from 
catching the midnight train. 

We returned to Kansas City early on the 
morning of the 24th. 

On being informed by Mrs. Shields's but- 
[158] 



KANSAS CITY AND OMAHA 

ler that her maid had already called her, I 
had a bath and, dressing as quickly as I 
could, went downstairs. 

Her sitting room was a garden of roses, 
lilies and antirrhinums and I shall always 
remember our unforgettable tete-a-tete. 

We started upon personality, and the 
difficulty of expressing what was true with- 
out hurting anyone, or acquiring character 
without becoming a character part. The dif- 
ference between originahty and eccentricity ; 
kindness and tenderness ; sympathy and un- 
derstanding; and the delicate grades by 
which your attempts at goodness may either 
help or hamper your fellow creatures. 

It is an eternal problem ; and the morally 
lenient and socially severe is what you en- 
counter every day of your Ufe. I confessed 
how much I resented the shortness of life 
and urged her to realise this, as she ap- 
peared to me, in spite of having a genius for 
friendship, to be self-contained and lonely. 
She was responsive, and said many encour- 
aging things to me. I said that somewhere 
or other I had read that Marcus Aurelius 

[159] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

had begged us to keep our colour. I was not 
very sure of the correct text; but that the 
idea was that some of us were born red, some 
yellow, and others grey, but that however 
this might be, the point was to keep it; not 
so much by contrast or conflict with the other 
person, but to complement it. Great scien- 
tists, mathematicians or philosophers may 
manage to develop their personality alone, 
but what they write will not have the key 
that the writings of men who are nearer 
the earth are able to present to ordinary 
human beings. 

At one of Abraham Lincoln's great meet- 
ings, he had to walk through the crowd to 
reach the platform. He heard someone say 
as he passed: 

"Is that President Lincoln? Why, what 
a common-looking fellow!" 

At which he turned round and said : 

"God likes common-looking fellows or he 
would not have made so many of them." 

I told her how much I had been moved 
by her remark to my secretary that our 
friendship would help her to emerge out of 
[160] 



KANSAS CITY AND OMAHA 

clay soil; adding that the desire of my life 
was to replant myself in a bigger pot every 
year, and that what she had said would 
encourage me to go on. After a certain 
age we were liable to become stationary ; and 
the ravages of war so far from having re- 
generated, had retarded civilisation. 

We were interrupted by Mr. Henry J. 
Allen, a guest who arrived long before the 
luncheon hour. 

The Governor of the State of Kansas is a 
man of authority — not only intelligent but 
intellectual, always a rare combination, and 
it needs no witch to predict a great future 
for him. He remained at Mrs. Shields's 
lovely house in Cherry Street from 11.30 
till 6 in the evening, in spite of having an 
appointment at 4, by which I inferred he 
could do what he liked. 



[161] 



XIV: THE WAR AND 
PROHIBITION 



XIV 
THE WAR AND PROHIBITION 

HEATED DISCUSSION ON ENGLAND'S ENTRY 
INTO THE WAR — OUR GERMAN FRIENDS 

— ^AMERICAN VITALITY MISQUOTED ON 

PROHIBITION 

IS AT next to Mr. Heath Moore at lunch 
and discussed many subjects; among 
others, the motives that had brought Great 
Britain into the war. He expressed himself 
with vigour and frankness, and said that 
nothing would induce him to believe that our 
purpose had been moral. That our trade 
was in danger of being out-rivalled, and the 
German navy had developed into such a for- 
midable menace, that after France had been 
defeated, our own shores would have been 
immediately attacked by the Germans; it 
was therefore humbug to suggest that our 
motive had not been one of pure self defence. 

[165] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

As this was the first anti-British note that 
I had heard since my arrival, it interested 
me. 

I asked him where he imagined our ships 
would be when the German dreadnoughts 
sailed into our harbours: and what sort of 
reception the British people were likely to 
give the enemy crew, even supposing it 
could land an army — never a very easy mat- 
ter — and concluded by saying I had not 
been kept awake by the fear that the Kaiser 
would succeed where Napoleon had failed. 
He stuck to his point and said that but for 
the violation of Belgium we would not have 
entered into the war. I answered that 
no doubt this had made it easier for the 
party in power — of which my husband was 
the head — because among the many convic- 
tions that divide Liberals from Conserva- 
tives is that we believe in freedom, while 
they believe in force: and that imperialism 
meant militarism against which we would 
fight for ever. But, I added, no British 
Government of whatever party would have 
watched with folded arms the whole German 
[166] 



THE WAR AND PROHIBITION 

navy sail down our coast to attack France. 

He inquired if my husband had felt any 
qualms when he took upon his shoulders this 
great decision, I answered that our Foreign 
Secretary, Sir Edward now Lord Grey, 
Lord Crewe, and others, had made up their 
minds from the first moment; and that in 
one year — thanks to the Committee of De- 
fence, Lord Haldane and Lord Kitchener 
— we had produced a large voluntary army; 
and had he been in England at the time, he 
would have been struck by the pathos and 
silence with which men of every class joined 
up to fight in a war which was not their own, 
against a foe for whom they felt no hatred. 

He asked if England had been disap- 
pointed that America had come in so late to 
help her. I confessed that in a moment of 
pique I had exclaimed that had I been Chris- 
topher Columbus I would have said nothing 
about the discovery, but that I doubted if 
Great Britain would have come in any ear- 
lier to help the United States had they 
been in a similar quandary. 

Someone asked me privately if I had lost 

[167] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

a child in the war. I said that my little boy- 
had been too young to fight, but that both 
my sisters, my three brothers and my 
husband had lost their sons; that living in 
Downing Street in the first years of the war 
had been an anguish, the depth of which no 
one could realise. 

We had refused to drop any of our Ger- 
man friends in London, and in consequence 
became targets for the abuse and calumny 
of our social and political enemies. 

It is a subject that rouses me to undying 
indignation when I remember the manner 
in which we were persecuted, not only by 
our opponents, but by some of my personal 
friends even after we had been defeated in 
the General Election of 1918. One of the 
candidates said that she had often been to 
Downing Street on matters of vital impor- 
tance during the war and had been struck 
by the lack of feeling shown by myself and 
my husband. 

Mr. Heath Moore gave me an account of 
the savage manner with which the German 
population over here had been treated when 
[168] 



THE WAR AND PROHIBITION 

America joined the Allies. He told me 
among other things, that one of his fellow- 
countrymen in a great recruiting speech had 
been interrupted by a man in the gallery 
who was understood to have shouted: 
"Hurrah for the Kaiser!" At which he 
was kicked and beaten down the stairs to 
the street and, but for the intervention of a 
policeman, would have been killed. When 
asked what he had done, the unfortunate 
German said his only son had been killed 
in the war and that he had shouted: "To 
hell with the Kaiser!" 

This was mild compared to some of the 
cruelties related. 

It is always dangerous to generalise, but 
the American people, while infinitely gener- 
ous, are a hard and strong race and, but for 
the few cemeteries I have seen, I am in- 
clined to think they never die. They thrive 
in rooms as hot as conservatories, can sit 
up all night, eat candy and ice-cream all 
day, and live to a great age upon either so- 
cial or commercial excitement without lei- 
sure. 

[169] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

When I left the room to rest and think 
over my lecture, I was afraid I had not 
shown sufficient consideration to Mr. Heath 
Moore or his opinions, so that I was relieved 
on being informed that he had proposed 
himself to return to dinner the same even- 
ing. I hope we shall meet each other again, 
as he is a man of compassion. 

I lectured after dinner, and before I had 
finished I fixed my eyes upon Mr. Heath 
Moore sitting next to Mrs. Shields and 
spoke of the moral motives that had made 
Great Britain enter into the war, apart 
from her friendship with France. I said 
that while the French had sacrificed every- 
thing and fought magnificently, other coun- 
tries had been animated by the same mo- 
tives, and in the end it had been won by a 
League of Nations. 

I dwelt at length upon the cruelty with 
which the Germans had been treated in the 
United States and at home, and was cheered 
when I said that had Christ come down 
among the civilian population at any time 
during the war His sense of justice and 
[170] 



THE WAR AND PROHIBITION 

compassion would have earned for Him the 
title of pro-German. 

We went back to Cherry Street before 
taking the midnight train. 

I was introduced to several people of the 
City of Kansas at supper, all of whom I 
found interesting. One man said to me: 

"I knew you had charm and personality, 
Mrs. Asquith, but you must have spoken on 
a hundred platforms to have acquired such 
courage and eloquence." 

I gazed at him dumb with surprise. 

When I left I promised to write to my 
hostess and Mr. Moore. 

We changed at St. Louis, on our way to 
Indianapolis, and were met there at 7 a.m. 
the next morning by Mr. Paul Anderson; 
we all had breakfast at the station together, 
and I was sorry to say good-bye to him. 

I read quoted from a London paper that 
Mr. Balfour — the greatest living Com- 
moner — had been made a Knight of the 
Garter. 

We were met upon om' arrival in the af- 

[171] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

temoon at Indianapolis by Mr. and Mrs. 
Sullivan, and accompanied to their house by 
a reporter. I was surprised to see in the 
papers next day that I had said among other 
things that in Scotland we were not only 
highly educated, but able to study in our 
schools both the French and Spanish lan- 
guages, and were I the Queen of America I 
would restore drink. 

I began to fear that, though uncrowned, 
I must have in a fit of absence usurped 
some of the powers I had indicated ought 
to be restored to the United States. 

After travelling all day on the 26th, we 
arrived in sousing rain at night to hear there 
were no porters at the station. On enquir- 
ing if they were on strike, I was told that 
there never had been any porters at Kala- 
mazoo. 

Loaded with luggage, we paddled like 
ducks in the mud to an inferior hotel. 

As we had lunched at midday and there 
was no dining car on the train, we were an- 
noyed to hear that no one could get any food 
after 8.30 p.m., but luckily for us there were 
[172] 



THE WAR AND PROHIBITION 

still ten minutes before the restaurant closed, 
so we devoured what we could. On the next 
day I was told by reporters and other people 
that an eminent divine had said in a sermon 
that, thanks to my belief in intemperance, I 
was not a fit and proper person to give a 
lecture, and in consequence, my audience of 
the evening was not all that I could have 
desired. I had something to say about bear- 
ing false witness against your neighbour, 
but the few that were there were more than 
enthusiastic, and I was embraced by a wo- 
man from Peebleshire. 

I was grateful to have the following cut- 
ting posted to me : 

"Can't stand the Tone of a Morning Con- 
temporary in Reporting Mrs. As- 
quith's Address. 
^^ Editor, Evening Telegram: 

"Sir, — I am a busy man, and have not 
much time to write letters, but I can't stand 
the sneering, cheap remarks of the Globe 
in their account of Mrs. Asquith's summing 
up of 'prohibition.' 

[173] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

"Mrs. Asquith did not give stories of a 
Vulgar nature,' * depicting an individual 
half -stupid with drink.' Note the hard 
Pharisaical way in which they gloat over 
the word 'drink.' Reminds me of the cheap 
old-fashioned 'temperance' poems. Mrs. 
Asquith quite properly and honestly called 
attention to the farce of prohibition laws, 
and merely voiced the opinion of ninety per 
cent of all honest people when she decried 
the unjust and unconstitutional 'blue laws' 
which the bigoted and ignorant minority of 
the Canadian and American people are try- 
ing to enact and enforce on the unwilling 
majorities — ^the real taxpayers. 

"Would to goodness we had more such 
women, fearlessly candid, broadminded, and 
un-hypocritical like the same Margot As- 
quith. England, with all her faults, will 
never pander to the few fanatics who are 
the real oppressors, depressors and joy- 
killers. 

"F. J. Paget." 



[174] 



XV: NEW YORK IDEAL CITY 



XV 

NEW YORK IDEAL CITY 

LIFE AND AIR AND GAIETY IN NEW YOEK — ■ 
LETTER FROM GOVERNOR ALLEN — MAR- 
GOT MEETS ARTHUR BRISBANE — PRIN- 
CESS BIBESCO'S BOOK 

AFTER travelling two days and a night 
we arrived in New York on the evening 
of the 28th to find Ehzabeth and her husband 
waiting for the elevator to take them to a 
play ; they were ready to throw this over but 
I told them I was too exhausted to talk and 
only longed to get to bed. 

I have not been to San Francisco, but if 
I were an American I would live in New 
York City. St. Louis, Syracuse, Omaha, 
Washington, are more beautiful because of 
their environment; but there is life in the 
air, and a general atmosphere of gaiety and 
movement which I find infinitely stimulat- 
ing in New York. 

[177] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

We saw "The Truth about Blayds" and 
"Kiki," two plays that were wonderfully 
acted; I enjoyed every moment of "Blayds," 
and the heroine of "Kiki" would make her 
fortune in any play. 

On Sunday the 2nd of April I went to 
tea at the studio of my friend Mrs. Komroff . 
I have known her for many years, when she 
was Nellie Barnard, and I do not believe 
there is any artist living who can paint 
children in water-colour in the manner she 
does. The room was crowded with friends 
and artists and the portraits that were dis- 
played filled us with admiration. 

Together with many letters from home I 
received the following from Governor Allen. 

"State of Kansas 
"Office of the Governoe 

"TOPEKA 

"The Governor. "March 30, 1922 

"My dear Mrs. Asquith, 

"I am taking the liberty of sending you a 
copy of my book on the industrial question. 
I hope you will forgive me for intruding it 
[178] 



NEW YORK IDEAL CITY 

upon you. I have so many delightful recol- 
lections of the keen and instructive things 
you said at Mrs. Shields's house that I now 
find myself full of regret that the conver- 
sation continually drifted into general dis- 
cussions which robbed us all of an oppor- 
tunity to hear more of your own conclusions. 

"Your generous comment upon Kansas 
City and the west has made us all happy and 
as a citizen I want to express my hearty 
appreciation of your compliments to this 
growing section of the country. 

*'I do not wonder that you drew from 
my remarks the conclusion that I am 'illib- 
eral.' I was stupid not to realise that your 
definition of the word liberal is different 
from that which characterises it out here 
just now. In your world, liberal' is an hon- 
ourable word. Over here it has come through 
misuse to denote a peculiar class whose reac- 
tion is antigovernment. The anarchist, the 
socialist, the communist and the bolshevist 
are all put down in one class, and the word 
liberal is thundered at them by orators and 
editors. It isn't fair to the word. 

[179] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

"If you have time, I'd be awfully glad if 
you would look over 'The Party of the 
Third Part/ because it relates to a program 
of industrial peace and justice which the 
President has recently indorsed in a mes- 
sage to Congress and which New York is 
now trying to write into her state legisla- 
tion. Doubtless if the law is held to be con- 
stitutional by the Supreme Court of the 
United States several States in the forth- 
coming legislative sessions will adopt the 
principle of impartial adjudication of labor 
quarrels when those quarrels occur in the 
essential industries of food, fuel, clothing 
and transportation. 

"I am sincerely glad you came to the 
middle west and I am grateful to Mrs. 
Shields for the delightful privilege of meet- 
ing you. I hope you will have a safe and 
happy voyage and that some day you will 
come back to America. 

"Yours sincerely, 

"Henry J. Allen." 

I was proud and pleased to sit to Baron 
[180] 



NEW YORK IDEAL CITY 

Meyer one morning, the greatest photogra- 
pher that ever lived — poor praise for an ar- 
tist who can express himself in whatever 
he touches. If I die on the Mauretania go- 
ing home, — which is more than likely as the 
sea seldom forgives bad sailors — I am cer- 
tain of leaving something to my family that 
they can look at without repugnance. 

On the 3rd of April we read in the papers 
"Balfour accepts Peerage: will enter Lords 
as Earl." 

We were entertained at lunch by Mr. 
Arthur Brisbane, a famous journalist and 
friend of Elizabeth's. I sat between him and 
Mr. Hapgood and had an excellent con- 
versation. They both spoke in high praise 
of "I Have Only Myself to Blame." In 
connection with this I will quote an Amer- 
ican review out of the New Republic, 



"modern love 



"*I Have Only Myself to Blame,' by 
Elizabeth Bibesco. 

"This book is a collection of pictorial 

[181] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

sketches and stories. Its field is restricted. 
It isn't about life in general. It leaves out 
religion and science, and illness and wars, 
animals and politics, and business, and chil- 
dren, and crime. It's only about lovers and 
loving. 

"It is an unsettling book. Just as you 
have privately made up your mind, perhaps, 
to be sensible, and be satisfied with what you 
have — or haven't — and to forget about a 
oneness with somebody, and are feeling rich 
enough with much less, this book tells you 
a story which reaches into some inner part 
of you that was getting dried up, and makes 
you feel painfully aware of the things you 
are missing. 

"Here for instance is part of a letter that 
one woman writes: 

" 'In a way I don't see why you should 
ever want to kiss me again. Do you under- 
stand what I mean, that I feel so merged, 
so eternally in your arms that I can hardly 
beheve in the process of being taken into 
them again and again ? Oh my dear, do you 
notice how one never can use superlatives 
[182] 



NEW YORK IDEAL CITY 

when they really would mean something? 
They seem to slink away ashamed of their 
loose lives. After all we can't "make love" 
to one another. We both do it too well. 
This is not an incident, a game, an art ; ours 
is not a love affair, it is hfe.' 

"Another extract; *I can't sleep. There 
is something oppressive in the atmosphere. 
. . . There is always a tenseness when you 
are not there, a cumulative unreality. I 
have felt it all day. ... I seemed to be a 
ghost wandering about in some meaningless 
void. It was not only that I couldn't be- 
lieve in the people, I could not even believe 
in the chairs and tables ; it was tiring. You 
know how in fairy tales the lovely Princess 
is turned into a toad and has to wait for a 
kiss to release her, that was what I felt like 
— ^that nothing but your touch could make 
me into a human being again.' 

"Her trueness is so exquisite, it really 
doesn't need any plots. For example, she is 
describing a man who has fallen in love, and 
who, though he used to be talkative, can 
now only stammer. He wants to propose 

[183] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

to a beautiful girl but he can't. 'One day 
they were walking through a bluebell wood. 
... "I must speak," he said to himself un- 
happily, while he realised he was physically 
incapable of bringing out the most common- 
place phrase. . . .' 

"He decided to speak when he saw the 
next orchis. 

"He thought of a woman he had once 
imagined himself in love with. She had had 
red hair and green eyes . . . and red hair 
had seemed infinitely wicked and alluring 
and adventurous. . . . 

"He saw an orchis and hastily averted his 
eyes. 

"He thought of a rocking horse he had 
had as a child, dappled grey with a grey 
yellow tail and a scarlet saddle. . . . 

"Another orchis. He looked at her im- 
ploringly. 

" *What are you thinking about?' she re- 
sponded to his appeal. 

" 'Rocking horses,' he said. 'Will you 
marry me?' And then desperately, *I know 
[184] 



NEW YORK IDEAL CITY 

that's not the way to put it' ; and then con- 
vulsively, 'I love you.' 

"She waited till he had finished and then 
she said. . . . 'That's a very nice way to 
put it.' " 

"This seems to one reader at least one of 
the best proposals in fiction. 

"Perhaps these stories are not classics. 
But they are of the very best of to-day's. 
They are not only charming, and fresh, but 
they have a nobility ; they are seriously con- 
cerned with our lonely emotional needs. 

"And there are things in them that touch 
the very core of one's heart. Things a 
reader is startled to find in print — things he 
had supposed not expressible. Secret 
things that make him whisper, 'Why I 
thought no one knew that but myself.' 

Clarence Day, Jr." 

In answer to a letter of thanks from 
Elizabeth he wrote: 

"It made me so sad to read some of the 
reviews of your book. I knew of course how 

[185] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

few people appreciated fine writing, but 
now I know how few people have ever been 
in love." 

Mr. Heath Moore put this review into 
my hands before we parted and I thought 
it was clever of him to know the pleasure it 
would give me. 



[186] 



XVI: CRITICISM AND 
FAREWELL 



XVI 
CRITICISM AND FAREWELL 

DOLL SALESMAN TALKS ON PROHIBITION 

PERILS OF COMMERCIALISM AND MATE- 
RIALISM IN AMERICA PLEA FOR LOVE 

AND FRIENDSHIP 

ON April 3— the day before I sailed for 
England — I went out early to buy toys 
to entertain my grand-baby on our voyage in 
the Mauretania; and had an interesting talk 
with one of the many civil salesmen that I 
have met all over the United States in their 
beautiful shops. He said he regretted that 
he would not be able to attend my last 
lecture although he had been to the other 
three in New York, because he feared the 
daughter of a friend of his was dying. She 
was a little girl living in a suburb who had 
fainted some weeks before. Her mother 
had given her the only stimulant they had 
in the house; since when she had suffered 

[189] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

from bloodpoisoning and was lying in a 
critical condition. 

"I do hope, madam, you will deal to-night 
with the abominable law of Prohibition. It 
has encouraged this country to manufac- 
ture liquors of the most dangerous kind," 
he said. 

I told him I heard the same complaint 
wherever I had been and, while sympathis- 
ing deeply with him, feared I could do no 
more, as I had dealt freely and at length 
with the subject. 

I was advertised by the following card 
to make my last speech, 

FAREWELL LECTURE 

imder the auspices of 

THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS OF 
ROUMANIA 

Founded under the August Patronage of 
Her Majesty Queen Marie of Roumania 

MARGOT ASQUITH 

will close her brilliant and successful tour by 
delivering a lecture entitled 

IMPRESSIONS OF THE UNITED STATES AND 
CANADA 

[190] 



CRITICISM AND FAREWELL 

I put on my best dress and, armed with a 
bouquet of rare orchids given to me by my 
chairman, made my final public appearance 
in this country. 

As Mr. Nelson Cromwell, who introduced 
me, is a fluent orator and had a great deal 
to say while paying a fine tribute to my hus- 
band — and knowing that I was to hold a 
reception afterwards — I cut my lecture as 
short as I could. 

Amon^ other subjects, I dealt with 
the exaggerated belief over here in commer- 
cial success; and the dangerous self-interest 
and lack of leisure which was encouraging 
not only this but every nation to ma- 
terialism. 

I had read in the morning papers a typi- 
cal example of what I meant. 

"First have what people want. 

"Then let them know it. 

''Thorough advertising is the Secret of 
Success. 

"The old way was to let the people find it 
out gradually and slowly, in time for your 
grandson to get rich. The modern way is to 

[191] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

have it to-day, and make everybody know 
it TO-MORROW, or, if possible, this after- 
noon." 

I told them what I had observed at the 
Niagara Falls, and spoke of the many hide- 
ous bill boards and advertisements that 
desecrated the scenery wherever I had been, 
and pausing over the one among others that 
had really interested me, "A Good Name''^ 
was interrupted by my chairman who ex- 
claimed in a clear voice: 

"Asquith!" 

This met with immense success. 

I ended by saying that few countries 
really cared for one another. It was not 
rivalry or jealousy that produced this in- 
difference, but a certain blindness of heart. 
That we were part of the same family, if we 
would only realise it, and had had a ter- 
rible object lesson in imagining that any of 
us, however much we prepared or tried, could 
succeed in crushing the other. We had seen 
enough hate, and enough death; and that 
I passionately hoped the English-speaking 
nations all the world over would try a new 
[192] 



CRITICISM AND FAREWELL 

departure, and do what they could to pro- 
mote friendship and love. 

The next day we sailed for England in 
the Mauretania. 

If I were to finish without criticism, it 
might be said that these pages should not 
have been called "Impressions," but "Ex- 
periences"; and against this I have not only 
been warned, but adjured. 

Nevertheless it is difficult, without appear- 
ing unfriendly, to write with candour upon 
matters that have moved me in my American 
tour. 

It must be said that the architecture, regu- 
lations of street -traffic, arrangement of 
flower-shops, plumbing, and telephone ser- 
vice are infinitely superior to our own, but 
these are not criticisms, they are facts, the 
truth of which is not disputed. 

I realise that there is not a nation in the 
world that extends such a generous welcome 
to the many strangers that go there as the 
United States. But admiration for my hus- 
band, and the publication of the first volume 

[193] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

of my autobiography — which aroused both 
favourable and unfavourable comment — ■ 
prevented me at the outset from being a 
complete stranger. Indeed many of the 
people who attended my lectures seemed to 
know all about me; and I was surprised 
when crowding on to the stage they some- 
times exclaimed: 

"But you are so different to what we ex- 
expected you would be! And you haven't 
told us what you think of us." 

I begged them to be frank, and tell me 
without fear of offence what they had imag- 
ined I would be like; but they could only 
repeat : 

"I don't know! But somehow we thought 
you would be the very opposite of what you 
are." 

When I tried a little clumsy chaff by 
saying: "I am sorry to have disappointed 
you!" it was always met with a protest; and 
on one occasion I heard a man say to the 
woman who was with him: 

"There you are! I told you all along; 
but you wouldn't read the book!" at which 
[194] 



CRITICISM AND FAREWELL 

the woman grasped me by the hand and 
said: 

"You are writing another volume of your 
life aren't you, Mrs. Asquith, in which you 
will tell us everything you think about us." 

I explained that I was writing an article 
on my Impressions of America for immedi- 
ate publication and the second and final 
volume of my life which would come out in 
winter. 

Flattering cuttings were sent to me from 
papers, as: "The Margot myth." And 
others, which said it was abundantly clear 
that I was in a chastened humour and, by 
guarding myself from my critics, was exer- 
cising a caution that deprived me of all 
spontaneity; or words to this effect. 

These remarks are of little interest, but 
they tend to show how much some people 
and nations depend on the approbation of 
others and are the reason why I am going 
to finish with a short summing-up. 



[195] 



XVII: THINKING IT OVER IN 
ENGLAND 



XVII 
THINKING IT OVER IN ENGLAND 

AMERICANS FRIENDLY BUT VAIN THE LAND 

OF THE REFORMER INTEREST IN EU- 
ROPE'S ARISTOCRACY — NEWSPAPERS PAN- 
DER TO VULGAR CURIOSITY — PLEA FOR 
ANGLO-AMERICAN FRIENDSHIP 

IT is probably wiser in writing impres- 
sions to keep the conclusions you arrive 
at secret; and many may ask — and with 
justice — : 

"What can a woman know who arrived 
on the 30th of January, and left on the 4th 
of April, of America or her people?" In an- 
swer to this I can only say that in those 
nine weeks I saw and talked to more 
varied types of persons than I could have 
done had I remained in either New York, 
Chicago or Washington for as many months. 
I met and conversed with senators and nig- 

[199] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

gers, farmers and reporters, judges and 
preachers, hotel proprietors, mayors, solici- 
tors, soldiers, shopmen, doctors, men of 
science and commerce, and a few of the rarer 
class of both the fashionable and the leisured. 
During this experience there are certain 
things I observed that I shall take the risk 
of writing down. 

The Americans, while the most friendly 
people in the world, are too much concerned 
about each other; and, though not person- 
ally, they are nationally vain. They would 
rather hear themselves abused than undis- 
cussed; which inclines one to imagine that 
they are suffering from the uneasiness of 
the nouveaiuv riches. 

What do you think of us? or, how do you 
compare our men and women and their 
clothes and customs with your own? was the 
substance of every question that was put to 
me. 

There are things of surpassing interest in 

this country, but have any of us heard an 

English man or woman ask a foreigner what 

he thought of us? Or, if they were silly 

[200] 



THINKING IT OVER IN ENGLAND 

enough to do so, who would be interested in 
the reply? 

Some will say that this comes from pride, 
or insularity; but they would be wrong. 
We are not obsessed by the desire to inter- 
fere with our neighbour that is noticeable 
all over America. 

In spite of true generosity and kindliness, 
I was aware of an undercurrent of illiber- 
aUsm and violence which amazed me. 

In every city that I have visited there 
are clubs, both male and female, to forbid 
or promote some harmless triviahty and un- 
til these are ridiculed they will prevent the 
United States from ever becoming what we 
should call a free country. 

Because there is little gallantry and no re- 
serve, people do not necessarily become of 
one class. We cannot regulate equality, 
since we are born with different brains, na- 
tures, and environment, and so far from be- 
ing equal, there is such a rigid regard for 
precedence in America that you are even 
congratulated after a dinner party because 

you have been seated *'one off Mrs. ". 

[201] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

While more than severe on anyone who 
accepts a title, there was no detail too in- 
significant about our Court or aristocracy 
that did not excite an ahnost emotional in- 
terest in my audiences. Every day of my 
tour I received letters begging me to tell 
them more about the life and habits of our 
upper classes or anything that I could 
"about Princess Mary's underwear." 

If these letters had been merely the 
cackle of the feminine goose who likes writ- 
ing to an advertised person, I would have 
torn them up, but they were sometimes 
signed by men, and often expressed the 
opinions of important local editors. 

One night after I was in bed, having had 
a long talk with an intellectual reporter upon 
the dearth of great literature in his country, 
he rang me up to say his paper was an- 
noyed that he had not brought back an ac- 
curate description of my hat and dress. 

He apologised profusely, but said that 

that was what the public really cared for: 

that none of our discussion upon Lincoln, 

Edgar Allan Poe or William James's fine 

[202] 



THINKING IT OVER IN ENGLAND 

style, or anything else of interest would be 
printed in the morning paper. But what I 
had said to one of the lady reporters, when 
we were left to ourselves, about Princess 
Mary's marriage being one of love, would 
probably be enlarged by headlines into a 
paragraph. I said I forgave him for wak- 
ing me up, but was quite unaware that I 
had even mentioned our royal family. 

The next day I read that I had said I was : 
"On smoking terms with Queen Mary." 
You may say that certain journalism of a 
similar kind panders to the same curiosity in 
what is low and vulgar over here, but it is 
more harmful in the States because the 
press has more power. 

So far from guiding public opinion, the 
papers in America stimulate all that is 
worthless and credulous ; and you may search 
in vain to find careful criticism either upon 
art, music or international affairs. 

England has been called a nation of 
shop-keepers, but I think we spend as much 
time upon the moors and playing fields as 
Americans do in elevators and offices. 

[203] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

Perhaps we waste too much time on grass 
and games; but it has encouraged a certain 
aloofness and leisure, which produces a quiet 
mind. 

Whether it is from the difficulties of the 
cHmate and the overheated rooms, the voices 
of even the nicest people appeared to me to 
be loud, and however generously you may 
have been entertained, you are left with a 
sense of suffocation, which it would be diffi- 
cult to explain. 

The excuse of being a young country will 
not continue to cover the rush and noise and 
lack of privacy that prevail; and the num- 
ber of small children that I have seen in 
hotels, shops and restaurants that go to bed 
at midnight after sucking candy between 
enormous meals, is not promising for a na- 
tion which is always growing up. 

The ingrained idea that, because there is 
no king and they despise titles, the Ameri- 
cans are a free people is pathetically un- 
true ; and you have only to watch the working 
of the Prohibition law to see the dangers of 
repressive legislation. There is a perpetual 
[204] 



THINKING IT OVER IN ENGLAND 

interference with personal liberty over there 
that would not be tolerated in England for 
a week. 

It is probably due to our passion for un- 
derstatement and that we have inherited 
wise and tested regulations that the British 
are a law abiding race; but I think if the 
Americans were given a chance they would 
be the same. I can only say, if they are not, 
Democracy will prove as great a failure as 
Czardom. 

It is enormously to the credit of the Amer- 
ican public that they ha\;e never chosen a bad 
character in their presents and have pro- 
duced, in Abraham Lincoln, a man of 
genius, ability and courage who will live for 
ever in the hearts and minds of every country 
in the world. Nor must we forget that he 
dominated the people in spite of a campaign 
of calumny by the press only equalled by the 
one to which my husband was subjected in 
the latter days of the war. 

Men at the head of affairs must be inde- 
pendent of public opinion if they wish to 
achieve anything and never tiy to concili- 

[205] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

ate a press that, in all fairness, it must be 
said, — ^with a few exceptions — does not at- 
tempt to guide, for more than a transitory- 
moment, anyone to any goal. 

The present Government in America from 
all I heard — some of its heads I had the 
honour to meet — seems to be an admirable 
one, and working smoothly in times of ex- 
ceptional difficulty. President Harding has 
had the wisdom to get good men round him 
and is a man of open mind and wide views 
himself. 

With some of the faults I have found dur- 
ing my tour I am told that "The American 
Credo" ^ (given to me by my friend Mr. 
Anderson of the St. Louis Dispatch) deals 
with searching fidelity. I daresay when I 
read it I shall learn where I have been 
wrong; but in criticising as I have, I am 
merely fulfilling the promise I made to write 
my impressions which at best can be but 
superficial. 

Among thoughtful people there is a great 
deal of pro-American propaganda going on 

*By G. J. Nathan and H. L. Mencken. 

[206] 



THINKING IT OVER IN ENGLAND 

in this country, and in conclusion I would 
like to say that there is so much that is fine 
and keen in the American race, so much that 
is disarming and lovable, that if I have 
written anything exaggerated or erroneous, 
I should feel of all people the most un- 
grateful. 

I can only plead to be forgiven where 1 
have erred, as I was not only shown unfor- 
gettable courtesy and friendship, but I feel 
it is vital to the peace of the world that our 
people and those of the United States 
should understand and care for one another. 



THE END 



[207] 



INDEX 

A 

Acton, Lord .15 

Adams, tomb 63 

Allard, Miss 76 

Allen, Henry J 161, 178, 180 

America 9 

dancers 24 

man 17 

press 82 

race 207 

women 16 

Americans 200 

Anderson, Paul 147, 152, 171, 206 

Aurelius, Marcus . 159 

B 

Balfour, Lady Francis 101 

Balfour, Mr 47, 59, 170, 181 

Balfour, Oswald 100 

bal poudre 45 

Baltimore 135 

Bancroft, Mrs 36 

Barnard, Nellie 178 

Beland, Dr. Henri 108 

Bibesco, Antoine 128 

Bibesco, Elizabeth 46, 181 

Bibesco, Prince 22, 51 

bolshevist 179 

Bonus, The 77 

Boston 29 

Fine Arts Museum 34 



[211] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

Boston (Continued) 

Public Library 34 

Sargent Hall 34, 35 

Symphony Hall 30 

Brisbane, Arthur 181 

Brooklyn 50 

Broun, Heywood 51, 52 

"Bruce" 82, 83, 152 

Buffalo 73, 112, 139 

Burgess, Mr. and Mrs. Ward . . . 158 

Butler, Dr. Murray 23 

C 

Calve, Mme 98 

Campbell, Ex-Governor 73 

Cannes Conference 61 

Castex, Captain 65 

Caulfield, Judge Henry 152 

Chapin, Mr. and Mrs 72 

Charwoman 98 

Chicago 73, 137 

Michigan Boulevard 140, 141 

reporters 74 

Church, Mr 86 

Cincinnati . • 142 

Coalition . 148 

Columbus 72 

Columbus, Christopher 167 

Communist 179 

Conservative Party 61, 116, 124, 148, 166 

Cravath, Paul 50 

Crewe, Lord 167 

Cromwell, Nelson 129, 191 

D 

Davis, Ex-Ambassador 129 

Day, Clarence, Jr 185 

Detroit 71 

Highland Park 72 

Downing Street 168 

[212] 



t 



INDEX 

Drew, Mrs 15 

Drummond, Mrs. Huntley . . . . 99, 111 

E 

E. A. S 137 

Eglee, Dr 52 

F 

flappers . . > 21, 83, 91, 118, 120, 

141 

Ford, Henry 72 

Fuller, Alvin, Lieutenant Governor . 33, 34 

G 

Galahad, Sir— statue 109 

Geddes, Sir Auckland 22, 67 

Genoa Conference 61 

German race 66 

Gerry, Miss Mabel 24 

Ghandi 148 

Gibbs, George 45 

Gouin, Sir Lomar 109 

Governor General of Canada . . . Ill 

Graham, Hon. George 109 

Grey, Lord. 116, 167 

H 

Hall, Mr 158 

Hapgood, Mr 181 

Hard, Thomas 57 

Harding, President 57, 58, 206 

Harper, Henry Albert 110 

Hill, Mr. Arthur 32 

Hocker, Mrs 151 

Holland, Dr 86 

Hosmer, Charles 101 

Hostetter, V 44 

House, Colonel 47, 129 

Hughes, Mr 61, 107, 130 



[213] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

I 

If Winter Comes 74, 84 

India 148 

influenza 11 

Intemperance .173 

International politics 81 

Irish Free State 107 

J 

Jeffries, Mr 72 

Johnson, Pussyfoot, Mr 125 

Jusserand, M 64 

K 

Kalamazoo 172 

Kansas City 155, 158, 171, 179 

Keedick, Mr. Lee 22, 49 

Kennedy, Mrs. G. B 109 

Kiel, Henry W 147 

"Kiki" 178 

King, MacKenzie 105, 106, 116 

Komroff, Nellie 72, 178 

Kountze, Mrs 158 

Kreisler 130 

L 

Labor 107 

Lake Chautauqua 58 

Laughter 16 

Lawford, Mrs 100, 111 

Lee, Lord 65, 123, 126, 127 

Liberal Party 49, 166 

Lincoln, Abraham 119, 160, 205 

Lloyd George, Mr 49, 60, 121 

Lords, House of 124 

M 

Mackay, Clarence ...... 129 

Margot myth 195 

[214] 



\ 



INDEX 

Meighen, Mr 105, 106 

Meyer, Baron . 181 

Military doctor 76 

Minotto, Count 74 

Minotto, Mrs 74, 75 

M. M. F 138 

Montclair 120 

Montreal 99, 111 

Moore, Heath 165, 168, 170, 186 

Moore, Mrs 149, 150 

McGivern, Hal 108 

N 

New Republic 181 

New York 177, 189 

Architecture 24 

female reporters 115 

Niagara 138 

Niagara Falls 12, 139, 140 

O 

"Official Reprisals" 107 

Omaha 157, 158, 177 

Onondaga Hotel 135 

Ottawa 105, 106, 108 

P 

Paget, F. J 174 

Parkes, Dr 41 

Perley, Sir George 105 

Petting Parties 141 

Pittsburgh 81, 91, 96 

Polk, Mrs. Frank 128, 129 

Prince Bibesco 22, 51 

Princess Mary 12, 14, 120, 202 

Prohibition 95, 116, 124, 125, 

127, 174, 190, 204 

Providence 120, 121, 

Q 

Queen Mary 203 

[215] 



MY IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA 

R 

Railway Stations 29, 30 

Reading, Lord 148 

Reed, Mrs. Hayter 100, 111 

Reporters 21, 81, 117, 173 

Richards, Dean 135 

Ridgeway, Mr. Thomas 24, 45 

Rochester 88 

Rock Creek Cemetery . . . . . &i 

S 

Sabre, Mark 84 

St. Louis 147, 149, 171 

Salesmen 189 

Saloon League 125 

San Francisco 177 

Sargent, John Singer 34 

Senate 130 

Shell-shocked 77 

Shields, Mrs. Edward 155, 158, 161, 170, 

179 

Smuggle pupping 141 

Speedway Hospital . . . . . . 75, 76 

State, Department of 131 

States, The 77 

Stauffer, Rev. Byron, chairman . . 95, 96 

Sullivan,, Mr. and Mrs 172 

Syracuse 135, 136, 177 

I 

Taylor, Sir Frederick 101 \ 

Tennant, Miss 22, 53, 62 | 

Tennants 48 ! 

Thayer, Charles M 37 

Toronto 91, 95 

Trains 89, 90 

Twain, Mark 96 

[216] 



INDEX 
u 

Utica 135 

V 

Vanderbilt, Mrs. Cornelius .... 45 

Versailles Conference 61 

Vining, Mr. C. M 91 

Volstead, Mr ,125 

W 

Washburn, Mr. and Mrs. W. ... 37 

Washington 130, 177 

White, Mr. Harry 24, 41 

Wiers, Rev. Swan r.i 120 

Wilson, Ex-President 63 

Y 

Younger, Sir George 60, 61, 116 



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